


Say My Name

by bettysnews



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst Warning, Betty Cooper - Freeform, Betty is 17 and Jughead is a little older, Cheerleader Betty Cooper, Dom Jughead Jones, Dom/sub, Don't expect Jughead to be soft for her in the beginning, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Jughead is an asshole, Jughead's just a bad guy, Major Character Injury, Protective Jughead Jones, Romance, Self-Harm, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Southside Serpent Leader Jughead Jones, Sub Betty Cooper, Very protective over Betty though, Violence, Virgin Betty Cooper, bughead - Freeform, jughead jones - Freeform, not for the whole fic tho, southside serpents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:54:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 61,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23314966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettysnews/pseuds/bettysnews
Summary: Innocent and sweet Betty Cooper is a Northside cheerleader, and Jughead Jones is a dangerous Southside Serpent gang leader. His gang is a little more villainous and barbaic than anyone realizes, and Betty accidentally gets caught in the crossfire.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 210
Kudos: 699
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on Wattpad, but I wanted to post it here too. This is my favorite trope and I wanted to try it out. Follow my tumblr @bettys-news for updates and such

It was Friday morning, the sun was shining, and Betty opened her eyes with pure glee when she remembered what day it was.

She reached over to her bedside table and patted the top, scrambling to find her phone. She picked it up, and ten new messages from Veronica appeared. She quickly scrolled through them, and a smile appeared when she glanced at the funny cat meme Veronica spammed her with. She yawned to herself as she faintly heard the sound of her mother calling her from downstairs. She groaned and rolled over on her stomach for a few seconds before she lazily pressed her feet to the carpeted floor and dragged herself to the bathroom.

Today was the season’s first football game, and Betty’s first time cheering for the Bulldogs. She had never been so excited to be doing something she wanted to do for once. Her mom had been practically bullying her for as long as she could remember.

_“Sit up straight.”_

_“Don’t eat that; it’ll make you fat.”_

_“Why didn’t you get a 100% on your exam?”_

Her mom's voice lingered in her mind as she brushed her teeth thoroughly and was mindful not to put too much makeup on or her mother would have a hissy fit. She'd lecture her about not ending up on the streets, and selling herself to any man who looked her way.

Betty proceeded to dab a small amount of concealer under her eyes and curled her lashes with her Covergirl mascara, and layered a few shades of pink perfection on her lips. Betty put her blonde hair up in a tight ponytail, and brushed her hands over her fingertip length skirt, and began to scan her eyes over her slim body in the mirror. She wasn’t the skinniest girl ever, but she wasn’t fat, and Betty knew she could easily hide her body with loose clothing, but her mother always insisted she wore tight sweaters that accented her curves. Betty was more aware of her body when she wore sweaters, and it wasn’t a sight she particularly approved.

She looked over herself once more before she sighed and walked out of her room. Today’s going to be a great day. It’s Friday; Betty knew she was going to ace that Math exam she crammed all night for, and tonight was the very first game of the season.

_Nothing, and I mean nothing could possibly ruin the most exciting day of Junior year._

The bell rang for school to be dismissed, and Betty walked swiftly over to her locker, where she noticed Veronica, who was already dressed in her Vixens uniform. Veronica looked up from her phone when she saw Betty in the corner of her eye, and her face lit up.

“Hey, stranger. How was class?” Veronica asked.

Betty fumbled with the lock on her locker before she thought about Veronica’s words, and managed to get her locker open.

“Oh, uh… Boring as usual,” she replied and started to take her books out of her locker.

A ding from Veronica’s phone distracted her from Betty’s response, and her face lit up with shock. “Oh… my… god."

Betty shut her locker and zipped up her bag before she looked in Veronica’s direction curiously. “What?”

"Archie might ask you to the dance.”

Betty’s eyes grew wide when she heard Veronica’s words. “What? Why?”

“Uh… maybe because he likes you, and you guys are perfect for each other."

Veronica’s words couldn’t have been more true. Archie and Betty were perfect for each other. He was the star quarterback on the football team, and Betty was now a Vixen. They’ve lived next door to each other since they were little kids, and her mom had always encouraged Betty to go out with him. Veronica knew they were perfect, her mom knew, Archie knew, and hell, everyone knew.

_So, why didn’t I want perfect?_

Betty managed a half-smile, and Veronica shrieked with excitement.

“He said he’s gonna ask you after the game tonight. Oh, my god, I’m so excited for you. I can’t believe it’s finally happening.”

Betty couldn’t believe it either. _After all this time, why now?_

The sun was down, the Bulldogs were out on the field, and Betty was standing by the bleachers with the rest of the cheerleaders. The stadium overflowed with fans cheering, and Betty danced on her feet, trying to keep herself warm. A smile crept up on her face when she noticed Archie standing out on the field.

Her eyes continued to roam around the stadium and froze whenever they landed on the parking lot.

A glass bottle being thrown on the ground, followed by laughter and a few cigarettes lighting up, caught her attention. She couldn’t quite distinguish who the troublemakers were, but Betty knew they didn’t belong at a high school football game.

The rest of the cheerleaders crashed their pom poms together, and Betty curiously stared at the mysterious figures off in the distance. Before she could get a good look at them, her gaze was disrupted when Veronica elbowed her in the ribs. “Ow! What the hell, Veronica?” She grabbed her side in pain.

Veronica laughed. “We’re about to go perform out on that big ass field in 5 minutes. You need to focus.”

But Betty couldn’t focus. Not with the thoughts that clustered her mind about Archie and about the odd commotion in the parking lot. She caught herself looking back at the unknown group of troubling men who kept messing around and noticed there were motorcycles near them. The men were all dressed in black and looked fairly young to be apart of a gang. At least, she guessed it was a gang.

_How can people be so uncaring and hostile towards someone else’s property?_

Betty scoffed to herself and turned her attention back to the game. Veronica gasped to herself and brought her hands up to her face.

“Fuck.”

Betty looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. “What?”

“I completely forgot the megaphone. It’s still in the car. Shit, shit, shit, shit —”

Betty put her hand on Veronica’s shoulder. “Calm down.”

“Betty, I can’t calm down. If Cheryl notices I forgot it, she’ll have a cow —“

“I’ll go get it,” Betty quickly cut her off.

“You wait here, and distract Cheryl while I run to the car really quick and get it,” Betty said calmly.

Veronica took a deep breath and nodded her head. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Betty repeated, and Veronica continuously nodded her head.

She walked over to her bag and dug out the car keys and handed them to Betty. “Hurry,” Veronica said with a worried expression on her face, and Betty nodded.

She turned to the parking lot, but before she could walk any further, she froze. The same scene of troubled gang members in front of her gave her an uneasy feeling. She had completely forgotten about them when she offered to go get the megaphone for Veronica, and Betty was itching to start punching herself in the face for it.

_Crap_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty bent down and picked up the keys. She stood there, staring at him one last time, hoping he could somehow feel her gaze and would turn around to meet her eyes again, but he didn’t.

Betty took a deep breath and carefully walked through the parking lot. She noticed Veronica’s car parked right next to one of the gang members, who had a lighter in one hand and a beer bottle in the other. She watched as he grazed the fire against the bottle, and she shivered at the sight.

Betty was torn. She knew the halftime dance wouldn’t be the same without the megaphone, but utter humiliation seemed a lot less frightening than being harassed by four gang members after she kindly tells them to move.

Her legs decided to make the decision for her.

Without much thought, Betty continued to walk through the parking lot, and couldn’t bring herself to stop and turn around.

She was a few feet away from the group when all four of them lost focus on what they were doing to look up at her.

She stopped in front of them and dragged her palms down on her skirt to wipe the sweat off. She carefully examined each one of them in the group as if she couldn’t help herself.

They all looked fairly alike.

One was attractive, tall, thin with black hair and a snake tattoo planted on the side of his neck. He was chewing gum and gave her a haunting smile.

One was also attractive, but shorter had black hair and slightly darker skin. He had the cigarette lighter in his mouth, and his foot was resting on the seat of his motorcycle.

The other two looked like they could be brothers. Both looked alike with black hair, similar skin tone, and the two of them were sitting on lawn chairs. Both attractive, and both were staring mischievously at her.

“Well, well, well... what do we have here?” The guy with the snake tattoo on his neck set his glass bottle down and slowly walked towards her. He began to circle her, eyes scanning up and down her as if he was a predator, and she was his prey.

“Oh, knock it off, Sweet Pea,” one of them said after he removed the cigarette lighter from his mouth.

“It’s a Northside cheerleader,” Sweet Pea snarked, and stopped right in front of her. “What can we do for you, princess?” Sweet Pea’s eyes darkened as he crossed his arms, waiting for her to speak.

Betty stuttered. “Uh... I... uh...”

He scoffed. “Uh... I... uh...” he said, mocking her. “What the fuck kind of answer is that?” He raised his voice.

“Leave the girl alone,” his friend said and took out another cigarette to light it. “Do you need something?” He asked her.

The guy’s voice was softer and more pleasant than Sweet Pea’s.

Betty swallowed, trying to moisten her dry throat and managed a smile. “I just...” she cleared her throat. “I need to get into that car.” She pointed at the white Lexus that was sitting right behind the two boys in the lawn chairs.

They all turned around to it, and Sweet Pea chuckled. “No problem, baby girl.” He walked over to it and took out an object from his pocket. He opened the object that appeared to resemble a knife. He took the blade and pressed the sharper end of it to the driver side’s door and began to drag it across, leaving a thin white scratch behind.

Betty’s heart sank when she saw what he was doing to Veronica’s car. She wanted to yell at him to stop, but before she could even react, a loud whistle startled them all, and the four guys looked over at a tall, dark-haired boy leaning against his motorcycle.

Five. There were five of them.

He had a cigarette placed gently between his teeth, and his eyes were fixated on everything but her.

“That’s enough.”

His voice was low, deep, and firm. He seemed unfazed by what was happening right in front of him as he took a puff of his cigarette, then flicked it off to the side.

If this was any other time, and any other person, her eyes would’ve traveled with that cigarette and watched it hit the ground.

But this time was different.

Instead, she watched him watch the cigarette fall to the ground. She watched his tongue drag over his bottom lip, and his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes met with hers.

“Come here,” he said to her in his stern voice.

She hesitated and exchanged looks with Sweet Pea, who had a defeated look on his face. He backed away from the car and walked back over to his other three friends, and Betty was shocked by how easily he obeyed him.

She turned back to the boy who was still leaning against his motorcycle with his arms crossed, but his head was set in the opposite direction of her, and Betty was unsure if he still wanted her to walk over to him. She slowly took a few steps in his direction and noticed her palm sweat had increased and ran her fingertips over the moisture before wiping it on her skirt again.

Now just inches away from him, Betty stared at his face. She was close enough to him that she knew he could easily see that a girl was standing arm’s-length right in front of him, but instead of meeting her eyes, he continued to stare off into the distance.

As if everything around them was more interesting to look at than her.

She waited there anxiously, wondering if she should speak up, but out of all the times she wished she would’ve kept her mouth shut, why’d her dried lips decide to stay glued together this one time?

He took a toothpick out of his pocket and placed it between his teeth. He turned his head towards her. Wasn’t quite looking at her yet, but it was something.

“That your car?” He asked as he nodded in the direction of Veronica’s Lexus.

Betty didn’t bother to look in that direction. She just stared blankly at the way his tongue moved the toothpick around in his mouth and shook her head no.

“It’s my best friend’s. I need to get something out of it.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and finally landed his eyes on her. “So, what are you doing messing with my guys, huh?” His voice was harsh, and Betty’s hands tremored.

She felt her mouth numb, and she knew the next words out of her mouth were going to be shaky.

“I-I wasn’t...” She was right; they were.

He broke the toothpick in half with his teeth and spat it out onto the ground. He took a step towards her, and Betty’s heart rapidly pounded inside her chest; she almost missed his hand, grabbing her own and yanking the car keys away from her. He looked back at the four other guys by the car and let out a quick whistle. The four guys proceeded to move out of the way of the car, and Betty watched them.

She turned back to the guy who purposefully dropped her keys in front of her, and before she had time to react, they hit the ground. “There you go. Now, get the hell out of here,” he said, avoiding eye contact with her _again_ and turned to his motorcycle.

Betty bent down and picked up the keys. She stood there, staring at him one last time, hoping he could somehow feel her gaze and would turn around to meet her eyes again, but he didn’t.

The dark-haired boy just stood there, unaware of her eyes.

Did he not notice them?

_Or maybe he just didn’t care that they were there._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her eyes were drawn to that exact spot but desperately started to roam around the area when he was nowhere to be seen. 

Betty tried to run back to the other cheerleaders with the megaphone in her hands.

Luckily, the cheerleaders were still on the sidelines, ready to run out onto the field to perform their dance.

Out of breath, Betty reached Veronica and handed her the megaphone and car keys.

“What the hell took you so long? Why were you talking to those guys?” Veronica asked with concern.

Betty bent over to place her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. “I... uh —“

The loud buzzing sound from the scoreboardinterrupted her. The football players ran off the field and Cheryl clapped loudly as a signal to get ready.

“I’ll explain later,” Betty said, raising her voice to talk over the loud fans in the stands.

Out on the field, Betty took her position behind Veronica. She was standing in the fourth row with three other girls lined up to the right of her. The cheerleaders had formed a diamond; Cheryl the only one in front. Betty was on the outside acting as the diamond’s point and had her hands on her hips, ready to go.

Betty watched as Veronica picked up her megaphone and shouted into it. “B-U-L-L-D-O-G-S!” Each cheerleader clapped once in sync with each other. “The Bulldogs B-B-Bulldogs are better than the rest!” The cheerleaders clap once again. “B-U-L-L-D-O-G-S!” One clap. “The Bulldogs B-B-Bulldogs are better than the rest!”

The cheerleaders cheered and Veronica set her megaphone off to the side and got back into position.

There was a moment of silence where each cheerleader had their heads down and the crowd came to a complete hush. The deadly silence had Betty hearing her own heart thumping inside her chest.

It wasn’t long before a remix version of _Pour it up_ by Rihanna was blaring on the overhead speakers.

Throw it up, throw it up (throw up)

Watch it all fall out (fall out)

Rihanna sang over the speakers and Cheryl was the only one allowed to dance to those lyrics as the rest of the cheerleaders had to stay still.

Pour it up, pour it up (pour up)

That's how we ball out (ball out)

The two girls behind Cheryl broke out into their dance, still leaving the rest of the girls frozen.

Throw it up, throw it up (throw up)

Watch it all fall out (fall out)

Veronica’s cheer line was up, swaying their hips back and forth seductively.

Pour it up, pour it up (pour up)

That's how we ball out

Betty’s line was next. She was now in the spotlight, forced to remember each move Cheryl made her practice over and over again until her legs gave out.

“Pour it up, pour it up” She leaned all her weight on her left hip, bent down at her waist and dragged her hands down her left thigh slowly. “That’s how-” She immediately moved her hands to her right thigh in a snake-like formation. “-we ball out” She repeated that same movement, ending on her left thigh.

Once Betty’s lyrics had ended, all of the Cheerleaders started dancing together with the rest of the song.

Cheryl’s dances were always a little too seductive for Betty’s taste. She had more hip locking and butt popping than any other cheer routine Betty has seen. Betty was surprised by her song choices, as well. She couldn’t figure out how Cheryl got away with using them, but Cheryl being Cheryl, she manages to get away with just about anything.

In the middle of the song, Betty was numb to the point where she couldn’t feel her feet any longer, but she wasn’t as nervous as she was before she started. The movements came naturally to her, and her adrenaline was at its peak.

Betty didn’t dare to look at any of the other cheerleaders during the routine because she knew that would mess her up. She kept her eyes locked right in front of her, and her mind locked elsewhere. She bent at the waist, flexing her butt out as she kept her legs straightened and slid her hands down her legs. Once she flicked her head up again and proceeded to the next move, her eyes shifted to a different spot and her heart almost slid to her stomach when she recognized the men in black attire.

There. Standing on the left side of the bleachers, leaned against them, his eyes were deadlocked on her, it was _him_. His arms were crossed at his chest, and from a distance, it seemed as though his eyes did appear to be on her. Or maybe he was watching one of the other cheerleaders. Or maybe he was watching Veronica. Or maybe...

_No. Why do you care so much? Focus._

Betty managed to look away from him and focus on something else as she continued with the rest of the routine. Though her mind couldn't help but wander off from time to time. She found herself imagining the way she looked while she swayed her hips back and forth while her hands slid from her chest down to her bellybutton.

Or the way she opened her mouth slightly, flexing her jaw and had her left brow raised a tad bit to add to the seductiveness of the dance. 

Her body was flirting and she wasn't even aware of it. 

Betty and three other cheerleaders ended the song with a backbend. As the last beat dropped, Betty arched her back backward and her hands hit the ground. She had practiced doing a perfect backbend for months now and was satisfied with who got to see it. A little part of her wanted Archie to see it, but she knew he was busy in the locker room with the other players getting ready for the 2nd half of the game.

After the clapping in the stands died down, the cheerleaders got out of their final position and Betty tried to avoid looking at _him_ , but somewhere in the middle of Veronica yelling her name, the football players running out onto the field again, and the crowd cheering, Betty didn't feel distracted enough to look away from where he was standing.

Her eyes were drawn to that exact spot but desperately started to roam around the area when he was nowhere to be _seen_. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His touch made Betty shiver and found her lips absentmindedly parting away from each other and her breath became frequent. "Don't cry about it, baby girl. It's nothing personal," he snarked, then made his way into the men's restroom.

Veronica grabbed Betty's hand and pulled her off the field. "You almost got knocked over by those football players," Veronica said with a smile, and Betty let out a breath of relief when she snapped out of her thoughts. 

The cheerleaders got back in their positions on the sidelines and rattled their pom poms in the air. "Woo! Go Bulldogs!" Veronica yelled, and Betty repeated after her, "Woo!"

The game ended 7-0, Bulldogs winning with one touchdown and one field goal. The stadium was riled up, and Veronica had her hands gripped on Betty's forearm, yanking her down as she jumped up and down ecstatically. Betty stayed glued to the ground, smiling at Veronica's burst of excitement, but was soon abandoned when Veronica ran over to a few other cheerleaders to celebrate with them. Betty was left alone, her eyes lighting up at every person as the entire field and sidelines were packed with proud girlfriends, friends, and parents congratulating their star football players. 

The parking lot became more crowded as everyone was leaving or getting ready to leave, and Betty followed behind Veronica. They walked passed the bleachers, and Veronica stopped to talk to a few of the other cheerleaders, who were waiting for their rides. Betty lingered behind her, not really interested in engaging in a conversation with them. She looked down at her uniform and noticed a small grass stain on the bottom of her shirt. Betty sighed and tried to wipe it off with her thumb when a faint whistle appeared from behind her, making her head rise immediately. 

She turned her head in the direction of the whistle and saw **him** standing there, back against a wall with his arms crossed at his chest. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and his fingers were fidgeting with the lighter, opening and closing it again over and over. His eyes weren't on her but were fixated on the lighter and though, it seemed as if he wasn't aware of her attention on him, Betty was sure it was him who whistled at her.

His eyes scanned the ground in front of her and landed on her shoes. He looked up at her face quickly before he did a quick nod in the direction of her shoes like he was telling her to look down at them. Betty did and noticed her left tennis shoe was untied. "Shoot," she said under her breath before she bent down and started tying it.

As she made her second loop with the shoelace, she subtly looked up and found herself examining him. Every inch of him.

He looked young, maybe Betty's age. Betty hadn't recognized him, so she didn't think he went to Riverdale High. In all honesty, Betty didn't know guys like him existed in this town. Or any town for that matter. The only boys Betty ever paid attention to were the ones on the football team, mainly just Archie. Being a cheerleader, it was expected of her to be attracted to the jocks at her school, and she planned to keep it that way. Could you imagine her being attracted to a guy like him?

Betty smiled to herself at the thought and quickly buried it in the back of her mind. She stood back up, and her mouth dried at the thought of speaking. Luckily, he looked at her, and she couldn't help but react by curling the corners of her mouth slightly upward, thanking him for his kind gesture. The cigarette still lingering in his mouth; he kept his slightly squinted eyes locked with hers for a few seconds. Not wanting to look away for some reason, she felt her heart miss a beat, and then it made it up by thumping even harder inside her chest. She swallowed when his gaze finally shifted in a different direction, and Betty had forgotten why she was standing there for a second. Before she could think about it anymore, she felt a tap on her left shoulder, and she quickly turned around to a smiley Archie Andrews. 

Betty matched with his smile and noticed he had changed from his football uniform to the regular clothes he was wearing at school. "Hey," he said to her, and his eyebrows furrowed when he acknowledged the guy leaned up against the wall. "Who's that guy?"

Betty took a slight pause before shaking her head, and her face scrunched. "Nobody" was the only word she managed to get out, hoping he wouldn't continue being curious about him.

Luckily, he just nodded at her brief answer, and Betty took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She desperately wanted to find something else to talk about and quickly remembered the game. "You did great tonight. I loved watching you play."

"Yeah?" He smiled, showing his teeth and had his eyebrows raised. "I thought I did a pretty sucky job, but I appreciate you lying to me." He laughed.

Betty blushed from slight embarrassment because the truth is, she didn't really understand football all that well, so she figured as long as he didn't get tackled a bunch, then he did an okay job.

She shrugged. "I didn't notice your mistakes, so I guess you did alright." She smiled, and Archie laughed again. 

Silence slowly built up between them, and Archie scratched his head, working up the nerve to talk. "Listen... there's something I wanted to ask you..." He swung his arms back and forth, and Betty's mind drifted back to when Veronica was telling her about Archie asking her to the dance after the game. She rubbed her bare arm, hoping to get rid of the goosebumps that appeared on her skin. Archie clicked his tongue and scratched his head again.

"Would you maybe wanna go to the homecoming dance with me next weekend?" Archie looked nervous, and Betty gulped at his question. She knew it was coming, but hearing the words flow out of his mouth; she knew their friendship would never be the same again. After years of them being friends, Betty was finally out of that zone, and she couldn't make sense of how she felt about it. 

She looked down at the ground as if the answer to his question was displayed in big letters on the cold, hard cement. The star quarterback of the football team just asked her to the dance, and she was hesitant. 

_No, it will be good. This is good._

Betty finally nodded her head and spoke softly. "Yes."

Before Archie had time to react, she heard a faint scoff behind her, and Betty turned her head in the direction of the noise, and _he_ was still standing there, eyes on the ground and not on her as usual. Only this time, he had a smirk on his face, and Betty could've sworn she saw him shake his head as if he was mocking their conversation. She decided to brush it off, then turned back to Archie, who luckily wasn't paying any attention to the guy behind Betty. 

"Great. I'll text you more details about it," Archie said, and Betty nodded her head and smiled. She watched him walk away and was immediately yanked by Veronica, who was probably aware of the conversation Betty and Archie just had. "He asked you!" Veronica shrieked, and Betty giggled at how excited Veronica was for her. It eased her mind knowing her best friend was happy for her. Maybe saying yes to Archie was the right choice and the best thing for her. 

"A few of the girls are going to Pop's now." Veronica grabbed both of Betty's hands and interlocked their fingers together. "We're celebrating." 

A few minutes later, they walked to Veronica's car, and Betty nervously watched Veronica's face as they approached it. Veronica went to open up her driver's side door, and her mouth dropped when she saw the long white scratch on her door. "What the hell? What asshole did this?" She raised her voice, and Betty was afraid to speak up. "Did I do this? I didn't do this. I couldn't have done this," Veronica groaned in frustration and looked up at Betty. 

Her guilty expression gave it away, and Veronica crossed her arms, waiting for Betty to start talking. "I... um..." Betty swallowed her words and walked over to where Veronica was standing. "When I went to get your megaphone, there were a few gang members hanging out in front of your car, and when I said I needed to get in it, one of them took their pocket knife and... well..." 

Veronica dramatically gasped. "Who?! What?! What gang members?" 

Betty shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that the guy who scratched your car was named Sweet Pea, but I don't know what gang they were apart of." Betty didn't know any gangs existed within a 100-mile radius of her, so directing Veronica to the guy who damaged her car seemed like an impossible task. 

"Wait, was it the Serpents?" Veronica asked, and Betty's eyebrows furrowed. "The what?"

"The Serpents. They're a gang located on the Southside. I bet it was them. Did they have a snake logo anywhere on their clothing or bodies?"

Betty thought back to their appearances and remembered Sweet Pea had a tattoo of a snake on his neck. "Yes!" 

Veronica huffed and put her hands on her hips. She started walking back and forth next to her car, pacing. "Okay, I hate to say this, but I need to find the asshole who did this to my car."

Betty's eyes widened and shook her head quickly. "Veronica, no. They're dangerous. Can't you just pay to get it repainted or something? You have money," Betty said, biting her nail. 

Veronica sighed and peeked down at her scratched door again before looking back up at her.

"It's not that... noticeable, I mean..." Betty said, hoping Veronica would agree with her. "It's fine." 

Veronica rolled her eyes, and Betty continued, "It's not like there's anything you can do about it tonight. They're long gone," she lied. 

A moment of silence washed over them for a few seconds before Veronica finally came to her senses. "Fine. We'll just go to Pop's then."

Betty blew out a puff of breath, relieved she didn't have to tell her about the guy who Betty, for no particular reason at all, found herself annoyingly curious about. 

At Pop's, Betty was sitting on Veronica's side of the booth, sipping her vanilla milkshake and listening to the gossip Cheryl was rambling on about.

"Did you guys hear --" Cheryl's voice faded as Betty decided not to listen to her anymore. She exhaled sharply and noticed she had a bit of pressure in her bladder from the milkshake she just sucked down. She gave a look to Veronica and proceeded to stand up out of the booth and made her way to the bathroom.

When she was done, she turned the light off and had her eyes focused on the floor. She wasn't paying attention when she felt her body crashing into something and bounced back when she realized it was another body. Her eyes jumped up, and her brows scrunched together when she recognized the other body belonged to _him_. He scolded her, and Betty's response should've been to keep walking, but instead, she stayed in his way.

"Are you... Are you following me?" She bravely asked him.

He scoffed and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth before releasing it, and Betty watched as it moistened from his tongue swiping over it. "Don't flatter yourself. It's a public diner." He made eye contact with her, and they darkened as soon as his attention switched from being on her face down to the tag peeking out of her skirt.

"Elizabeth," he said with a smirk, and Betty's face lit up with shock. "How do you... How do you know my name?" She raised an eyebrow at him, and he pointed at the tag sticking out of her skirt. Betty looked down at it and saw the name 'Elizabeth' written in black sharpie. She widened her eyes and felt her face heat up from embarrassment as she quickly tucked it back in. Her mom was the one who ordered Betty's uniform and went to pick it up from the school for her. Cheryl had her mom write Betty's name on the tag of both her shirt and skirt, so none of the girls would get theirs mixed up, and Alice, being Alice, wrote Betty's full name on both the tags. 

She looked back up at him and mumbled, "It's Betty." He heard her correcting him but chose to ignore it and took a step closer to her. "Besides, you're not exactly the type of girl..." His eyes then darted back down to her shirt, then her skirt. "... I would find myself following anyway."

The blood left her face and her eyes drooped from his words. She found herself more aware of how she might look right now in her cheer skirt. Maybe he found her unappealing to look at, and even though she had just met him, his words made her feel even smaller than usual. She couldn't help but frown, and he took a step closer to her. Her back just an inch away from the wall, she decided to press against it. 

He was just a couple of inches away from her, one more small step, and her body would be pressed up against his. She flinched when he brought his thumb up to her chin and softly brushed against it. His touch made Betty shiver and found her lips absentmindedly parting away from each other and her breath became frequent. "Don't cry about it, baby girl. It's nothing personal," he snarked, then made his way into the men's restroom. She stood there frozen, wishing she had said something to defend herself. She tightened her fists at her sides, and the blood in her body quickly began to heat up. She didn't care that he didn't want her in that way. He was a stranger to her, a guy she had just met, who was a complete asshole to her, so of course, she didn't care. She didn't. 

She unglued herself from the wall and scolded the men's restroom door. She was angry and wanted to leave that place as soon as she could. Her eyes caught the front door opening, and the bell chiming, and Betty decided to go for it. 

She stormed out of Pop's, not bothering to tell Veronica she was leaving, and within a second, she found herself face to face with the guy who scratched Veronica's car. Betty gasped slightly, and her heart stopped when she realized there was a whole group of them. 

_Not again._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And what if I don't walk away easily?" 
> 
> "Well..." He exhaled through his nose. "The last guy who didn't walk away was beaten to near death." 
> 
> "It's not a game, Betty."

They were chilling in the parking lot, laughing, and didn't notice Betty standing there. She crossed her arms at her chest after feeling a subtle breeze brush against them, and she proceeded to make her way around them.

"Hey, look, Northside cheerleader. How cute," one of them said, calling out to her and Betty kept her eyes on her feet, trying not to look back at them.

"Come on. Do one of your little cheers for us," another one teased, and Betty heard a few of them laugh behind her, but she still didn't pay them any attention and kept walking.

When she finally walked far enough to lose sight of them, Betty found herself walking on the sidewalk of an empty road. She was alone, freezing and her phone was almost dead. Her house was a 30-minute walk from Pop's if Betty walked at a steady pace. She knew it was dumb to leave Veronica, but couldn't bear the thought of staying any longer. She didn't want to wait and watch the man that practically insulted her walk out of that bathroom, and strut to the door as if he owns the place. 

_Don't flatter yourself; it's a public diner._

His stupid words replayed in Betty's mind as if the record was broken, and she had forgotten how to change the song. She slapped her palm against her forehead a few times, trying to get the image of him out of her head. His blue-green eyes played on repeat for a few seconds before Betty switched the image, and then it was his lips glistening from his tongue after he had just licked them. Betty suddenly felt her heart pounding and her stomach churning, and she didn't understand what was happening. 

_Stop._

_Stop._

_Stop._

Betty winced, and she looked down at her hands. She hadn't realized her hands were fisted, and her nails were digging into her palms. She stopped walking and opened her hands up to a few red crescent-shaped moons placed neatly across her skin. Betty was fascinated by a drop of blood sliding from one of the moons and stopping at the line of her wrist. As many times as Betty has caught herself digging her nails into her palms, she has never made herself bleed before. This was new. 

Betty's attention to her hands was disrupted when she heard the sound of a few motorcycles off in the distance. She curiously watched them get closer and closer to her before one sped passed her, and the rest followed behind him. There was one lingering behind the group, and as Betty continued to walk, he slowed down and turned around. He was coming towards her, and Betty's face grew cold when he hit the breaks and stopped right next to her. She didn't know if she should continue walking or stop to see what he had to say to her. Before she made the decision, he removed his helmet, and Betty immediately recognized him. He was the one who was telling Sweet Pea to cut it out in the parking lot. 

"You were the girl from earlier, the one my friend was messing with in the parking lot, right?" He gave her a warm smile, and Betty took a deep breath before nodding.

"Yeah, I thought I recognized that ponytail and uniform," he laughed and looked down at her outfit. "Do you, uh... Do you need a ride somewhere?" He asked, and Betty cringed at the thought of getting on the back of a stranger's motorcycle.

He saw her cringe and let out a chuckle. "I'll go slow, I promise I won't hurt you, and you shouldn't be walking out on the street alone, in the dark... dressed in that." He pointed to her skirt, and she realized he had a point.

"Can you tell me your name first?" She asked, hoping that if she knew his name, maybe it would be easier to get on the back of his bike. 

"The name's Fangs," he said, smiling at her, and Betty raised her eyebrows at the strange name, then she remembered Sweet Pea, who also had a strange name and figured they were just nicknames. 

"Betty," she replied, returning the friendly smile and walked towards his bike. She stood there, examining it; she wasn't quite sure what to do with her body next.

He sat there with his hands still on the bar handles, and she looked at him. "Oh! Yeah, you can use my helmet," he said and took it off his head. "Here." He handed it to her, and she grabbed it without hesitation. She placed the helmet on her head and buckled the strap under her chin. She swung her leg over the seat behind him and adjusted herself on it, so she was comfortable. "Okay, wrap your arms around my waist and hang on tightly." She did as he told. "And whatever you do, do not let go. Okay?" He said with an alarming voice, and she suddenly felt her body tense up. This was her first time riding on a motorcycle, and Betty had no idea what to expect. The engine roared, and Betty could've sworn she felt her soul leave her body when he took off on the open road. 

The wind was slamming against her bare skin, and Betty couldn't feel the effects of the cold air anymore. She had her arms tightly around his waist, making sure she didn't move them an inch. She couldn't see the road in front of them, but could only imagine how satisfying it looked. She felt a sense of calmness wash over her when she studied the pine trees surrounding the dark road. She had never felt so much exhilaration before, and for a few moments, she felt life crawl inside her. She felt free. She felt like she was conquering the world for once, instead of just surviving in it. 

He parked a couple of houses down from hers and turned off the engine. Betty got off the motorcycle, landing her foot on top of the curb and faced him. She took her helmet off and handed it to him. "Thanks for the ride." 

He took the helmet from her and rested it on his lap. "No problem." 

She stood there for a moment before she smiled and started turning away. 

"Hey, Betty, is it?" He called after her, and she stopped to look at him. "Yes."

She heard him exhale and paused for a few seconds before speaking. 

"I know any guy would say this to lure you onto their motorcycle, but I'm an exception. Just because I said I wouldn't hurt you doesn't mean other guys on other motorcycles wouldn't... You have to be careful."

She squinted her eyes at him and tilted her head to the side slightly. "What- what other guys are you talking about?"

"All of them," he said bluntly, and Betty felt her throat swell as she swallowed. 

"Anyone with a leather jacket and a snake stitched on the back of it like this-" He pointed to the back of his jacket. "-you stay far away from. I am not messing around."

Betty's mind immediately shifted to the one that made her blood boil. The one with the smoldering stare and the blue-green eyes, she wouldn't hesitate to stay far away from. If Fangs was saying that every guy in his gang was bad, she wondered just how bad each and every one of them was. With the way Sweet Pea handled Veronica's car, she wouldn't be surprised if he had handled another person that way too. Although, it was obvious Sweet Pea wasn't the leader. He surrendered quickly when he was told to back down, so maybe he wasn't the worst one.

Maybe he wasn't the one Betty should fear.

She cleared her throat and tucked a few loose hairs that escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. "Um..."

She exhaled and chewed the inside of her mouth before speaking further. "I'm not surprised everyone else is bad. I mean, your friend Sweet Pea scratched my friend's car and the one who told him to stop, he, uh..." She choked on her words, and her eyes fell to the ground.

His eyes darkened at the mention of the other guy. "He what?" 

Betty met his darkening eyes, and a sick feeling in her stomach appeared when she saw his worrisome expression grow.

"He... uh, he just said some hurtful things to me, but it wasn't a big deal." 

He sighed and closed his eyes as if her words had just disappointed him. "Betty..." he said under his breath and stared at her shoes. 

"Jughead is our leader." He looked back up at her and shook his head. "What have you done?"

A wave of silence overflooded the streets as if the whole world had just been silenced from his haunting words. Betty thought she had gone deaf for a split second when she suddenly heard a faint ringing in her ears. That ringing was shortly interrupted when she heard the vibration coming from his throat. 

"You listen to me, okay?" His stern voice made her ears perk up again. "The Serpent King is considered royalty on the Southside. You do not speak to him. You do not touch him. You do not look him in the eyes even." 

"Why? What's the big deal?" 

His eyes widened at her ignorant question, and she tried to swallow passed the huge knot in her throat.

"Okay, I'm telling you this, so you'll stay far away from him from now on, but if any of the Serpents catch you speaking to him when he didn't speak to you first, they might do something about it."

"It's for his protection. All the Serpents are required to handle people who disturb him."

"Handle..." She swallowed. "Handle as in...?

"As in they may hurt you. It depends on how easily you walk away from him."

"And what if I don't walk away easily?" 

"Well..." He exhaled through his nose. "The last guy who didn't walk away was beaten to near death." 

"It's not a game, Betty."

He leaned in closer to her as he held her gaze.

"So, don't get involved in it."

With that, he put the helmet on his head and buckled the strap under his chin. "It was nice meeting you, and please don't take this the wrong way, ponytail, but I really hope I never see you again." He gave her a good-bye smile, and Betty watched him ride off. 

She was blinded by the information Fangs gave her, and felt the adrenaline pump through her body when she realized how oblivious and ignorant she acted towards this Jug-head person. She felt like an idiot for making eye contact with him and wanted to go bury her face into her pillow and pretend like this night never happened. Her obliviousness gave her a bold and brave facade that Jughead was most likely ruffled by. Just a few more exchanged looks with him and Betty could've been seriously injured.

She walked to her front door and stared blankly at the doorknob. Betty hesitated to knock because she knew her mom would be angry with her for walking herself home in the dark, and it's not like Betty could reassure her by telling her she hopped on the back of some gang member's motorcycle, and he drove her home. 

She threw her head back in frustration and turned around to head off her porch before she heard the doorknob rumble. Betty turned around as soon as the door swung open, and she was face to face with an angry Alice, who was already in her nightgown. They locked eyes for a few moments before Betty blurted, "I can explain" out, trying to break the awkward silence between them. 

She held her hand up to stop her from talking. "Don't bother. I'm tired. We'll talk about this in the morning." Her mom snapped her fingers and opened the door wider, so Betty could walk in, and she did. "Go to bed," Alice said before she closed the door, locked it, and walked back into her bedroom. 

Before she headed upstairs, Betty went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. The night that she was hoping would be one of the best nights of her life ended up being one of the worst. She sighed and walked upstairs to her room with her glass of water. She set it down on her nightstand and turned on her bedside lamp. She put her now-dead phone on the charger and reached behind her back to pull down the zipper on her uniform. It easily slid down her backside, and Betty removed the shirt from her body and laid it across her desk. Now just in her sports bra and skirt, she side-eyed her window and realized the curtains were open. She walked over to it and noticed the light to Archie's bedroom was turned off, which made Betty wonder where he could be. Archie lived right next door to her, and the two of them had been exchanging mutual glances at each other for years. Sometimes Archie would be changing in front of the window as if he knew Betty was watching, and she shamelessly did. He was never completely naked in front of his window, but Betty could recall how many times she had seen him in just his boxers. 

As she stared through her window and his, she felt a little spontaneous. She backed away from the window so no one below them could see her, and reached behind her back to unclip her sports bra. She smiled to herself, her gaze never shifting from Archie's window as she slipped the bra off. Her heart beating quickly inside her chest, she turned around so that her back was facing the window, and wasn't aware of Archie's light turning on. 

He was headed for his bed when his eyes immediately darted up to the half-naked blonde, who had her bare back facing him. His mouth dropped open as soon as he realized she was just in her cheer skirt. He had never seen anything less than a bra and underwear on her. He sat down on his bed, his attention never turning away from the pretty girl, who was obviously taunting him. He watched as she kept walking to her dresser, and Archie didn't get anything more than a slight view of her sideboob before she covered herself up with a nightshirt. He wondered if him asking her to the dance tonight made her feel a little more comfortable in front of her window because she had never been so open about changing out of her bra before. Then, he remembered he had just walked into his room, which left him a sickening thought that maybe she wasn't aware of his presence. Quickly snapping out of his daze, he turned off his light and got into bed.

Betty proceeded to change into her pajama bottoms and turned around to see Archie's light still turned off. She crashed down onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. His blue-green eyes flashed inside her mind, and she tried to swallow the image down her throat. Her body tossed and turned on the bed, and she felt some heat build-up in her stomach that flowed down to her underwear. She fought the urge to slip her hand inside her bottoms, figuring the heat was leftover from her scandalous act in front of Archie's window. Then, the cigarette between _his_ glistening lips overflooded her mind and she squirmed. She didn't want to think about him right now or ever again for that matter and immediately shifted her thoughts to school and the project she had to work on with Veronica over the weekend. She groaned at the thought and moved to the top of her bed and got under the covers. She reached over to turn off the light, then made sure her body was in a good sleeping position before she closed her eyes tightly and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But if you don't..." Jughead's mischievous look on his face was noticeable under the moonlight.

The rest of the week went by excruciatingly slow. Betty sat in the front row of her biology class and had her face buried in her textbook when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to look behind her and saw Veronica's lightful smile. "Let's go shopping for homecoming dresses after school today," Veronica whispered loudly and held her thumbs up in the air. Betty looked around the silent room, making sure no one was disrupted by Veronica's loud whisper.

She took a moment to think about her afternoon schedule and realized she didn't have any plans waiting for her after school. She was usually the busiest person when it came to homework, extracurricular activities, and additional tutoring sessions her mom always has had scheduled for her.

Betty sighed, shook her head teasingly at Veronica and smiled. "Fine," she said in a loud whisper, and Veronica excitedly crashed her hands together, creating a loud noise. Betty let out a snort before she speedily covered her mouth. The whole class turned and looked at them. The two girls continued to laugh silently into their palms.

After school, Veronica took her to the mall, and they hit multiple dress stores before finally entering one they both seemed to like. There weren't many pink dresses to choose from, which made Betty indecisive. Veronica handed her a light pink strapless dress that would come down to her knees, and Betty shook her head at it right away. "No, I'm not wearing that."

She huffed out an aggravated breath and groaned. "Come on. This is the dress, I'm telling you." She aggressively pressed the dress against Betty's body and walked away from it so that Betty would have no choice but to grab it. She sighed and held it up in front of herself while looking in the body length mirror.

"It's strapless, Veronica. I'm not going to be able to pull it off. I'll look like a ballerina threw up on me."

Veronica glared at her with annoyance, unamused by Betty's comment. "Fine. Try this one." She took another pink dress off the rack and handed it to her.

Betty held it up in front of her body, admiring it in the mirror, and she smiled at how perfect it looked dangling right in front of her. The dress was a little poofy at the bottom, and it had light pink flowers covering the torso. She looked in the mirror at Veronica, who had a disgusted look on her face. Betty turned around to face her and rolled her eyes. "What?" She snarled, causing Veronica to jump at Betty's aggressive tone. "I just don't think that dress would look... flattering on you." She raised one eyebrow and glared down at the little pink flowers covering Betty's torso. "Maybe you could try a different color?" Veronica's voice was higher when she asked that question, which gave her the impression that she was a little skeptical about asking it.

"I don't know, V... I only ever wear pink. I just don't think any other color suits me well."

"Well... How about you try these on..." Veronica grabbed a few random dresses that were different colors from the dress rack and handed them to Betty. "...and I'll be the judge of that statement." She smiled at her, and Betty couldn't help but smile back. "Fine."

"Yay!" Veronica said eagerly and clapped her hands together.

In the dressing room, Betty grabbed the first dress that was lying on top of the stack. It was green, tight, and had sparkles all over it. She wasn't too fond of the color on her but knew Veronica wouldn't let her get away with turning her nose up at it before she even tried it on.

The dress was on, but the zipper was still down. She moaned and groaned trying to get the stupid thing up. "Urgh," she said in frustration and walked out of the dressing room. "I need help."

Veronica raised her head from her phone, face lighting up immediately as soon as she saw Betty standing in her dress. "Wow, that looks amazing."

"I can't get the zipper up. I think I'm too big."

"No, no, no. No one is ever too big. The dress is just too small," she smiled and walked over to Betty. She grabbed the zipper and tried to hold the lining of the fabric together to get it to zip up, but it still wouldn't budge. "Yeah... um, that's okay. I'm sure the other ones will fit you. I think I just accidentally grabbed you the wrong size," she said with a comforting voice and Betty frowned.

Back in the dressing room, she picked up a sapphire blue satin dress. It was easy to slip on and came down to her knees. She admired herself in the mirror, examining the way the color illuminated her skin. She didn't want to like the dress because the style was out of her comfort zone, but she enjoyed the way it fit her so perfectly. She brushed her fingers against the material, feeling the silk slide against them. It was a v-neck that was cut down to the end of Betty's chest and usually, she would've turned her nose up at it, knowing it had that particular feature, but it didn't reveal as much of her cleavage as she thought it would.

She swiftly pulled back the curtain and walked out. Betty stood right in front of Veronica, waiting for her to notice and look up from her phone. She cleared her throat, wanting to catch her attention, and it did.

Veronica looked up, and her mouth instantly dropped to the floor.

"Holy... shit," she said breathlessly, which made Betty's palms sweat.

"What?" Betty looked down at her dress, hoping nothing was out of place.

"You look... holy shit, girl" was all she could spit out.

Betty chuckled and did a little spin for her.

"Yes!" Veronica yelled, and it made her jump. "That... That is the dress."

She stood up and walked over to her. She brushed her hand against the material, and her smile grew. "You're so fucking gorgeous, Betty. I can't imagine you staying a virgin after this weekend. This dress will definitely get you some action," Veronica snorted.

"Action?" Betty swallowed and felt her insides shrivel up.

Of course, she thought about losing her virginity to Archie, but she didn't think the opportunity would come up so soon. They weren't official yet, and Betty was always a firm believer in saving yourself for someone you love, and she wasn't sure if Archie fit that description yet.

Veronica took out her wallet to hand Betty her credit card. "Here."

She took a step back. "What? Why are you handing me your credit card?"

"I'm buying your dress because I know you would never spend your own money on a dress like this."

Betty shook her head at her gesture. "No... No, I'm not spending your money, Veronica."

She ripped the tag off her dress, and Betty lunged forward. "Hey!" Veronica walked to the register, and Betty stood there, unsure of what she should do. She watched the lady take the tag from her and scanned it. She stuck her tongue out at Betty jokingly and gave the woman her credit card.

She walked over to them as the lady handed her her card back as well as a copy of a receipt to sign.

"V, I --" She started to talk when Veronica cut her off by placing her hand over her mouth.

"I don't wanna hear a peep out of you. The dress is already paid for and..." Veronica took her copy of the receipt and tore it up into tiny pieces. "Now, you can't return it," she said with an animated smile and Betty blinked twice, trying to unblur the event that just happened.

She stood there, stunned as she watched Veronica skip out of the store.

Back at home, she caught herself, eyeing her new satin blue dress she had draped over her mirror. She wondered if letting Veronica buy it for her was a mistake. She loved looking at it but wasn't too sure if her mom would allow her to walk out the front door wearing the thin piece of fabric. She could picture her mom's judgemental look on her face. However, it's not like Betty had a choice now, Veronica tore apart any chances of her returning it.

It was Saturday night and the dance was in a couple of hours. Betty and Veronica were getting ready in Betty's bathroom when she finished layering her lips with a shade of Veronica's red lipstick she practically forced on her. Veronica puckered her lips in the mirror, showing off her seductive shade and Betty giggled. "You look great, V." She ran her hands through the middle of her hair, parting it into two sides before separating the curly strands by flinging them over her shoulders. Betty wouldn't usually like to style her hair down, but she knew a ponytail would look odd with a chic dress.

A little over an hour went by and the two girls were chatting amongst themselves in her bedroom. She got up, walked to her closet, and picked out a pair of black high heels that showed off her blue painted toes.

"The boys should be here in a few minutes," Veronica said, looking down at her phone and Betty's heart started to pound inside her chest. She was nervous, and wondered if Veronica was nearly as anxious as her considering she was going with Reggie, who was known to be a player.

She eyed herself in the mirror one last time before she heard the doorbell rang, and jumped at the agitating sound. She looked back at her door, then at Veronica, who had a devilish smile painted across her face.

The two girls walked downstairs, and Alice had already beaten them to the door.

"Wow... don't you two look quite handsome," her mom complimented them, and Archie blushed as they walked in. Betty stood still, looking down at Archie, who had his eyes roaming around the house before they met with hers.

"You look amazing, Betty," he said as she made her way down the staircase.

Alice looked up at her and gasped. She grabbed Betty's arm, yanking her the rest of the way down.

Betty stumbled over her shoes but quickly caught herself. "Ow. What?"

"What in the world are you wearing?" She said, scolding her and Betty noticed her eyes weren't focusing on her dress, but on her lips instead. 

"It's lipstick, mom. It's not a big deal."

Alice scoffed. "That is not lipstick. Go wash it off right now," she said with an alarming voice.

Betty's face lit up like a tomato from embarrassment. "What? No."

"Elizabeth --"

"It's Betty," she shouted, cutting her mom off.

Alice inhaled and exhaled deeply. "You are not wearing that. You look like a h --"

"Don't say hooker." Betty's face was steaming. She clenched her teeth together tightly, flexing the muscle in her jaw.

Her mom stayed silent, raising her left eyebrow at her.

After a few seconds went by without either one of them breaking the silence, Betty looked at Veronica, whose eyes were widened. "Let's go." She walked out, leading in front of Veronica, Archie, and Reggie, who followed behind her.

She stomped her heels against the concrete, determined to get to Reggie's red Porsche before her mom had a chance to yell after her.

_I hate her._

They got inside the dance, and Betty had her arm wrapped around Archie's as he led them inside the gym. The room looked smaller than usual, with all the people crowding around the area. The place was lit up with blue and red lights, and the music beat was in sync with her own heart. It was overwhelming to be in a place with people Betty only got to see during school hours.

But the familiarity of it all felt like a dream, and she felt like a princess.

The four of them stopped walking. Veronica grabbed Reggie's hand and led him to the dance floor, leaving Betty alone with her date. She watched Veronica put her arms around Reggie's neck and smiled at her. She sometimes wished she was brave and carefree like her friend. She hated being the timid girl, afraid to step out of her comfort zone once in a while.

"Wanna dance?"

Betty looked up at Archie, who had his hand held out in front of him, wanting her to reach for it. "Yes," she smiled and took his hand.

His palm was warm, which was comforting to touch because hers was ice cold.

They walked out on the dance floor, and the ray of light shining over them blinded her from seeing Archie's face for a second. She froze and looked up at him, waiting for him to take the lead. He placed his hands on her waist, and Betty hoped his hands weren't too aware of the curve of her hips. She awkwardly placed her hands on his shoulders, and he smiled at her unsureness.

"You've never done this before, have you?" He spoke over the blaring music.

She swallowed and chuckled at the way he was smiling at her. "No... No, I mean, I cheer, but I've never slow danced with anyone before."

He stared at her as if he was studying her answer and let out a breathless laugh.

"Am I that obvious?" She asked shyly and wanted to bury her head in his shoulder.

"No, no, you're great. This is great." He continued smiling. "Being here with you... is great."

She found herself gazing into his eyes, longingly, and he moved his hands higher up her waist.

She was too focused on her feet moving properly on the ground for her to get too lost in the moment, so it was a surprise when she felt Archie's lips brush against hers.

They've only ever kissed once, and that was in the first grade when Betty did Archie's homework for him, and he thanked her by leaving a quick peck on her mouth. From that moment on, Betty swore she would never let any other guy besides Archie kiss her, and she was proud she lived up to that promise.

Betty puckered her lips, pressing them against his, and he returned the pressure. It was gentle and soft. Neither one of them moved their mouths much, but stayed stationary, feeling the tenderness of each other's touch.

He was the first one to pull away as he looked at her lazily and she curled the corners of her mouth up just enough to give him the response he wanted.

"Betty..." His voice was soft, and his eyes were desperate. "Do you... Do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

 _There_.

The question she's been daydreaming about for years. The question she's been longing for is now nothing but a barrier between the two kindred souls.

Her mouth was starting to feel numb, and she felt no hint of desire in her chest. She stepped back so he would remove his hands from her waist. "I...uh..." She didn't know what to say. She felt the urge to say yes, but something inside her was holding her back. A feeling. A thought. An urge. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I'll um... Can I... Can I think about it for a second?"

Before he could answer, Betty suddenly turned away from him and started for the exit. Instead of walking out the entrance, there was a back door in the gym that led straight to the parking lot. She shoved her way through the dancing couples, earning a few glares along the way, but Betty didn't care.

She was stopped by a teacher. "You can't go out this way. You gotta go through the entrance."

Without bothering to look the teacher in the eyes, Betty ignored them and shoved her way out the door. She could feel the outside air ease her lungs as she placed her hands on her knees and breathed in deeply. She heard the door shut behind her, and finally, she could have some peace and quiet. 

When she felt the sick feeling leave her gut, she straightened up, and a sharp breath left her mouth when she felt an arm wrap around her waist, pulling her back against the body connected to it.

"Don't scream." She felt his hot breath against her ear, and his voice sent chills down her spine.

Her breathing was heavy, and she couldn't hear anything but the whistling of the wind and her heart thumping inside her chest. "Wha... What's going on?" She asked breathlessly and winced when she felt a sharp object digging into her side. "Shut up!" He yelled in her ear, and Betty jumped from the alarming shrill of his voice.

She felt like she was going to cry, but her body was too scared to react that way. His arm tightened around her waist, and Betty felt like all he had to do was squeeze a little tighter, and the ground would be covered in her throw up. 

"Where's that red-headed boyfriend of yours, huh?" Her ears perked up at the mention of Archie. The way the voice filling her ear sent goosebumps down her arms and legs, she started to get a familiar feeling inside.

She heard footsteps walking towards her, and all Betty had to do was adjust her eyes in that direction, and she could see the figure in sight.

_Sweet Pea._

She saw Sweet Pea walking towards her along with two other guys Betty's never seen before. The three guys were smirking, and Betty felt even sicker by the way they were looking at her. She felt like they were going to pounce any second.

"Why do you wanna know where Archie is?" She struggled to get out of his grip, which made him dig the object even further into her side.

"Ah!" She howled from the pain.

"Jones, I don't think she heard you. Maybe you should draw some blood," Sweet Pea chuckled and stood right in front of her.

"I'm not gonna ask you again." His arm unwrapped from her waist, and he brought his hand up to curl around her throat. "Where's your boyfriend?!" He barked. His grip around her neck was uncomfortable but she still managed to breathe easily.

"He's... he's inside the dance," she squeaked, and Betty was embarrassed by how undermining her voice sounded.

He let go and shoved her hard, causing her to stumble over her feet and fall to her hands and knees.

"Give me your phone," he ordered, and she turned over on her side. "What?" She looked up at him, and the air from her lungs disintegrated when she saw his face. It was _him_.

"Give me your phone!" He roared, and Betty felt a knot build up in her throat as she pulled her phone out of the small clutch she had in her hand and gave it to him.

He snatched it from her, and Betty turned her attention to Sweet Pea, who had his arms crossed at his chest and was glaring down at her.

"Betty, where are you?" She heard Archie's worried voice over the phone and Jughead had it up to his ear with a smirk across his face. "Try again." His devilish voice gave her a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Remember me?" He asked, and Archie started to talk, but she couldn't hear a word he was saying.

His eyebrows curved at the sight of Betty's knee, causing her to follow his eyes in that direction. A drop of blood was sliding down her shin and she noticed a reddened scrape covering her knee.

"I have your girl here."

"Don't hurt her," Archie said over the phone, and Jughead glanced back down at Betty's knee. "Too late," he said with a sly smile.

"Here's how this is gonna work..." He walked over and leaned his body against the wall next to the door. "You bring me the money you owe me, and I'll give her back to you."

She gulped.

"But if you don't..." Jughead's mischievous look on his face was noticeable under the moonlight.

His darkened eyes met with hers and Betty felt the breath leave her throat once again.

"...I'll kill her myself."


	7. Chapter 7

He hung up on Archie and put her phone in his back pocket. 

“What money?” Her voice was shaky, eyes were glossy from the chilled air, and she adjusted her body on the cold pavement. Trying to avoid directly touching her knee to the ground, she pushed herself up with her hands but was quickly knocked back down by a set of firm hands. 

She looked up and saw Sweet Pea standing over her. 

“Get her up,” Jughead growled, and she jolted her arms forward as Sweet Pea aggressively pulled her up to her feet. 

Betty whined in response to his firm grip, and Jughead walked over to her. She kept her eyes glued to the ground, terrified to look at him. 

He stood right in front of her, brought his finger up to her chin, and delicately tilted it up. The surprisingly soft gesture caused her to look him in the eyes. He took his hand away, but his soft gaze stayed on her, and every single molecule in her body multiplied. 

He bent down right in front of her; her eyes followed as he examined the blood dripping down her lower leg. 

He tenderly ran his thumb over the dripped blood on her shin, trying to wipe it away, but only caused it to smear -- the odd gesture seemed as if he was worried. She let out a soft whimper in response, and he quickly tilted his head up to meet her distressed expression. She gave him a pleading look before she looked back down at her wounded knee, and his brooding expression started to fade. 

He wiped his jeans, trying to get the blood off his thumb and stood back up. Staring coldly at Sweet Pea, he said, “I want you three to take her back to the Wyrm, get her cleaned up, and don’t hurt her unless I tell you to, got it?” He warned as he pointed his finger directly at Sweet Pea. 

Sweet Pea huffed, then nodded in agreement as he tried to pull Betty away.

“Wait...” The tone of her voice was desperate, and she finally let out a tear that slipped down her cheek. 

“What are you going to do with me?” She jerked her arms away from Sweet Pea’s grip, managing to escape and pressed her body against Jughead’s despairingly. “Please...” She softened her voice like an angel trying to outwit the devil as her face stationed just a few inches in front of his.

Jughead looked away, trying to ignore the fear that turned her eyes black, then glowered at Sweet Pea. 

“Don’t do this,” she choked, and Sweet Pea grabbed ahold of her arm again and aggressively yanked her back. 

“No!” She yelled, water droplets peaking through her tear ducts as Sweet Pea tried to turn her around and pull her away. 

She fought against him, but he was much stronger than her. ”Jughead!” She blurted.

Sweet Pea froze and looked up at the man Betty was calling out to. Jughead had his back turned to them, fists clenched together at his sides as he turned his head dreadfully slow. 

Betty had never called him by his name before -- It was odd saying it out loud, but she was begging for her life. It was a risk getting personal with him, trying to dig under his skin and tug at his heart, but it was a risk she was willing to take. 

She caught his eyes; the blood left her face when she saw how angry he looked at her. 

"What did you just call me?" 

She swallowed hard; lips quivered as she hesitated to repeat his name. 

He walked back over to her, wiping the blade of his knife against his jeans, and held it up in front of him. "Where did you hear that name from?" 

She thought back to the conversation she had with Fangs. He was the one who referred to him as Jughead but seeing how furious Jughead got at hearing the name; she reconsidered telling him the truth. 

"I... I heard it from a few people," she lied. "It was a few guys..."

He kept his stare on her, and she knew he wouldn't accept those vague answers.

"I didn't know who they were. I just overheard them talking about you and a few other Serpents."

He looked mad, really mad, and Betty knew at that moment that It was only a matter of time before he'd jab that switchblade right into her lower abdomen.

"I don't know why you're lying to me, Elizabeth." His voice was raspy, and hearing her full name come from his mouth, made her heart jump.

"I only let a handful of people call me that name." He took another step towards her and made the switchblade waddle between his thumb and pointer finger. "People I care about." He towered over her, practically dominating her, and she suddenly felt tiny. 

"Everyone else calls me Forsythe. _You_..." saying with a wry smile, "...call me Forsythe."

_Forsythe._

_It seems even weirder than Jughead._

She broke his gaze, looked down at her feet, and swallowed the only dignity she had left. Every bone in her body wanted to give in to his commands if it meant saving her own life. She didn't care how weak she felt; she was scared, scared of him, and she knew he saw that fear in her eyes.

"Now..." He tapped the smooth part of his switchblade against her bare arm. "...I don't think I ever remember giving a goddamn care about you."

"So--" His index finger dragged gently along the outline of her jaw, "--you wanna be a good girl for me?"

She nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah?" He smiled mischievously while pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, and her eyes followed there.

"Say my name."

He dragged the smooth part of the blade up and down her arm, sending chills down her spine.

"Forsythe," she said, the name caught in her throat.

He swiped his tongue over his bottom lip as he brought the weapon up to her face and dragged it delicately across her cheek.

The metal was cold against her skin. Her eyes closed at the gentle brush along her cheekbone, and she swore she had never felt so many goosebumps in her life. 

"And that's the only name you will refer to me as from now on." He leaned his face closer to hers and parted his lips like he was going to say something else, then moved them to her ear. "Do I make myself clear?" She could feel the delicate puff of hot breath against her ear, and it tickled. His words were meant as a question but came out as a warning. 

She waited until he moved away from her ear, meeting her eyes again until she slightly nodded her head in agreement. 

He looked up at Sweet Pea, giving him the okay nod, and Sweet Pea tugged on her arm, telling her to turn around and keep walking. She did without thinking twice about it, feeling like she had been undermined and was now completely helpless. They were walking away when she turned her head back to see if he was following them, but he wasn't. He was walking the other direction, and Betty caught a last-second glimpse of him before he cut the corner. 

The night was growing darker by the second, and as her kidnappers were bruising her arm with their secure grip, the only thought that kept her from elbowing all three of them in the groin played a cycle in her mind:

_What the fuck did Archie do?_

She silently sat in the back of an old truck, listening to the rumbling sound of the engine. Sweet Pea had tied her hands in front of her with a tie that belonged to a suit he found lying on the ground. The knot was tight -- the way it uncomfortably hugged around her wrists made a noticeable red patch appear on her skin. She had told him previously that she wasn't going anywhere and that tying her hands together was unnecessary, but of course, he didn't believe her. 

The truck pulled up to an unfamiliar dark building. The only light that surrounded it were the bright headlights that belonged to the old truck she was sitting in. The engine suddenly stopped, and Betty had gotten so used to the vibration inside her chest, she thought her own heart had stopped, as well. The three guys got out of the car, and Betty stayed still. Her mind worried more when she peeked at the creepy building right in front of her and wondered what was waiting inside for her.

Sweet Pea opened her car door for her, and she looked up at him with a question mark on her face.

"Get out," he ordered.

She kept her legs closed, trying not to reveal what's underneath her dress as she twisted her body to dangle her legs over the seat and stepped down onto the rocks that were covering the area.

Sweet Pea grabbed her elbow, trying to steady her up as she struggled to stand on the rocks due to her thin heels. He closed her door behind them, he started walking towards the dark building, and the two other men followed behind.

She considered dropping to her knees and making them drag her inside because then they might give in to her reluctant behavior, and send her home. She forgot about her mother, who would freak out if she didn't arrive home at midnight. Alice is the type of mom who would call the police before calling her daughter to see if she's all right. The only problem is, no one saw her leave the parking lot, and the abandoned warehouse seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. 

The warehouse looked old and rugged like it was straight out of a classic horror film. They walked up to the door, and Sweet Pea pushed her towards one of the other guys, and he grabbed her, pulling her back against him and brought his hand up to cover her eyes. All she could see was darkness and heard the sound of Sweet Pea rummaging with the lock on the door. She quickly realized what was happening as soon as he removed his hand from her eyes and saw Sweet Pea detach the lock from the door and opened it. 

Sweet Pea held the door open for them, and the guy took a step forward, pushing her body with him as they stumbled inside the dark building.

She blinked three times, but her eyes couldn't adjust to the pitch-black room. "Where are we?" She asked, hoping someone would answer, but all she heard were footsteps. 

Before she knew it, she heard a loud sound and was quickly blinded by an overhead light. 

The room was immense and completely empty except for a few items that were scattered around. Her eyes searched the room before they stopped at Sweet pea, who was walking over to her.

"Arms out," he said, stopping right in front of her. She raised her arms out in front of her, and he started untying the knot. He freed her wrists, and she sighed with relief as she rubbed her wrists, trying to ease the sting. 

He put the tie in the pocket of his black leather jacket. "Stay here." He and the two other guys glared her down as they walked out of the warehouse. 

_Where the hell would I go, jackass?_

She rolled her eyes and exhaled after they closed the door behind them. 

She waited a few moments before she heard the sound of the truck driving away on gravel. She lunged for the door, yanking on the handle, but wouldn't budge. "Crap." She slammed her hand on the door in frustration, letting out a groan in response. She looked around, seeing if there was another escape route, and noticed the warehouse had two garage doors on opposite sides of the building. 

She walked over to one of them, leaned down, and grabbed the handle. She pulled upwards, trying to yank it up, but the door refused to move. She turned around and started for the other garage door.

She immediately stopped when she heard voices outside. Her heart started racing, and she looked around the area, trying to find somewhere to go, but the door was quick to open.

She looked up and squinted her eyes at the body walking through the door. "Fangs?" She said aloud, swallowing the knot that had been lodged in her throat.

His face went pale when he saw her standing in the middle of the empty room. "Oh, my god. Betty?" He rushed over to her.

"What--what are you doing here?" He grabbed her wrists, and she winced at the pain. His head dropped down, eyes scanning the red marks around her wrists. "Jesus..." He said under his breath and let her hands go. "What the hell did they do to you?"

She couldn't help the tears that started to flood her eyes. She was unable to get a word out; her lips embarrassingly quivered as a response. He looked into her eyes as if he was trying to find an answer, then looked down at her body where he saw the scrape on her knee.

"They-" Her voice was shakey. "-They kidnapped me and brought me here. I don't know..." Betty fought to hold back the tears, but seeing Fangs made some of the fear and numbness leave her body, so she couldn't help it. "I didn't do anything. I promise," she bawled. "I stayed away from them as you told me to, but they found me, and they--they threatened to kill me." 

"Oh, my god." His unsettling tone increased her anxiety, and she felt like she was going to be sick. "What?" Her tears stopped, and she gulped, trying to prepare herself for what he would say.

He saw how worried she looked and shook his head immediately. "No, no, no, no." He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. "It's gonna be okay. They're not going to kill you. I won't let him kill you." His voice was more comforting than she expected it to be, but it didn't ease the pit in her stomach. 

"You have to let me go," she pleaded.

"Betty, I'm sorry." His hands dropped from her shoulders, and he rubbed his face. "I can't just let you go. Jughead would have my head." He looked back up at her face, and the tears started streaming again.

"But I didn't do anything." 

"I know--I know." He turned away from her and started pacing back and forth. "If you didn't do anything, then that means one of your friends did, and Jughead's using you as leverage." 

Her face lit up like a lightbulb just went off in her head. "Archie--Archie, my... friend. He needs money from him or something." 

He stopped pacing and looked up at her -- his eyes widened and his stare nearly burned through her. "Arch --"

Before he could finish, the sound of the door opening had him turn his head. Betty's heart dropped as she watched Jughead walk through the door. 

Jughead glared at the two of them, and the eerie silence that filled the room made her feel uneasy. He had something in his hand, but she couldn't see what it was. He slowly walked over to the two of them, and she noticed a toothpick hanging out of his mouth, but still couldn't make out what he was holding. He tossed the unknown objects to Fangs, who surprisingly caught them.

"Clean her up," he said to him as he strode around them with arrogance. 

Her eyes darted down to the objects in Fangs' hands. "What are those?" 

He popped the lid off one of them and squirted the substance onto his fingertip. "Oh, uh... ointment for your knee." He wiped the substance off on his arm. "Let's clean that blood off first." He revealed the damp paper towel in his other hand, then looked around the area surrounding them. "Uh... Let me get you a box to sit on," he said before leaving her there.

She stood there, awkwardly waiting for him to come back. She heard footsteps creep up beside her, and jolted her body at the unexpected presence.

"You're hardly recognizable without your cheer uniform." Jughead's eyes smoldered through her body, and she hated how her core flamed in response. 

"Same legs, though," he said, looking amused as he put his chair down right in front of her and sat down. 

She raised her eyebrows at his comment, words suddenly trapped in her throat. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t fathom a single thought. 

He stared up at her puzzled face while swiveling the toothpick around in his mouth.

Fangs came back with a moving box container he found and set it directly next to her. “Here.” He gestured for her to sit down, and she did.

He knelt right in front of her and looked up at her for approval before he grabbed the back of her calf and straightened her leg out. 

She winced when he touched the cool paper towel to her wound. “Ah, that’s cold.”

”Sorry.” He began to lightly dab around the infected area, cleaning up the blood that tried to escape. 

She zoned out while watching him, forgetting where she was for a split second. 

She looked up at Jughead, who was still staring at her with a blank expression. His constant gaze made her feel uncomfortable as she tried to turn her attention back to Fangs, but found her eyes were going back and forth between the two.

He was the first one to break their apparent staring contest when he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. "You shouldn't stare, Elizabeth. It's rude," he said as he stood up out of his chair and started walking away from them.

She raised one eyebrow and couldn't help but blush. She looked at Fangs, who was already looking up at her. She felt her cheeks get hotter with every second of silence that passed by. "I--I wasn't." Fangs exhaled in annoyance or disappointment; Betty really couldn't tell, then went back to caring for her knee. "What did I tell you about that, Betty?" He whispered as he coated her scrape with ointment. 

She opened her mouth to defend herself, then was distracted by Jughead lighting his cigarette with an obvious smirk painted across his face, and she rolled her eyes.

_Asshole._


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead swung his clenched fist as hard as he could, striking Archie in the face, which caused him to fall face down on the concrete.

The darkness was blind.

Time had gotten away from her the minute Jughead handcuffed her wrist to a metal pole and shut the light off on her. Betty leaned against the wall, completely stiff as she forced herself to close her eyes. She didn't even know if she was alone. Someone could sneak up on her, and she wouldn't be able to detect their movements. 

She thought about being in her own bed--the cotton sheets placed comfortably over her as she let her mind wander to another world. Her own dream scenarios replaying over and over before she finally drifted off to sleep. She wished her dreams consisted of the thoughts she had before the night fell over her. She wanted to dream of a world where she wasn't afraid--afraid of her mother, afraid of her love life, afraid of her future. She felt like she was falling on a cloud, and there was a tingly sensation that made her fall deep inside it.

As she fell inside the cloud, her body jolted up, and she awoke from the few seconds of sleep she just got. She was blinded by the overhead light, and the voices walking inside the warehouse triggered her relaxed state. She groaned as she adjusted her numb body, trying to relieve her left hip from the tingly sensation she got from laying on it too long. 

"Rise and shine, Brittany Murphy." Jughead tossed a half-empty water bottle at her, and it conveniently hit her on the shoulder. 

"Ow." Betty flenched, then scowled at him. 

"Oops. Sorry," he said in a sarcastic tone.

She reached for the water bottle that landed a few feet away from her, twisted the cap off with her teeth, then sucked every last drop from it. 

She hadn't realized how dry her mouth was until it flooded with the room temperature water. Jughead watched her, looking amused as she threw the empty water bottle back at him. His eyes darted down to the bottle that landed right next to his foot. "Thirsty?" 

He walked over to her, placed his right hand on the wall, and leaned his weight against it. "You don't peg me as the thirsty type."

She ignored his snide comments and rolled her eyes. "When are you going to let me go?"

"I'm letting you go right now." He waved his hand in the direction of the door. 

"Really?" Her face lit up with surprise as she sat up. 

"No one's stopping you. Go right ahead." 

She tugged at the handcuffs restraining her and furrowed her eyebrows at him. "I can't--"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," he clicked his tongue. "Sucks to be you then." He took his hand off the wall and leaned his back against it, then crossed his arms at his chest.

The door flung open, and there were a few lingering seconds before someone was shoved through the door. Betty recognized the person right away.

_Archie?_

Archie scanned around the room until he twisted his head to the left and saw her sitting against the wall. "Betty!" Archie yelled out as he dashed over to her. Before he reached her, Jughead took a step in front of him, blocking him from being able to come any closer to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast." 

Archie sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"Where's my money?" Jughead crossed his arms, and his expression was no longer filled with amusement as he started to give her apprehensive date a chilling glare.

"I--I don't have it." Archie stared at the ground, and Jughead clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "But I can get you it," he said in a low voice, and there was a tiny moment of silence between the two. 

"I just need a few more days, but I'll get it to you. I promise."

Jughead scoffed. "No." His tone grew more aggressive, and he took a step closer to him. "I gave you two fucking weeks." His face inched closer and closer to Archie's, and this caused Archie to take a step back. "I warned you what would happen if you didn't give me my money on time."

Betty's ears shot up at his words. "You knew he would come after me?"

"Shut up," Jughead squawked, and she pulled her lips back between her teeth in response. 

"You see what you did, Archibald?" He pointed his finger at Betty and kept his eyes on him. "Your little girlfriend here has to pay the price for your mistakes. How sad is that?" 

"Say goodbye to your boyfriend of the year award." Jughead fake pouted. "Mm." He bit his lower lip and scrunched his nose. "There's always next year."

"Don't drag Betty into this. She has nothing to do with it!" Archie raised his voice, and she cringed at the high level. 

“Archie...” She let out a breathless whisper and was startled by Jughead snapping his fingers at her. She broke away from her gaze at the two of them and bit her lip, pulling it back between her teeth. 

"Then you should've picked a different girl to stick it to." He circled Archie, eyeing the boy carefully.

Archie was still wearing what he wore to the dance, but his jacket was missing. He looked like he had been manhandled by a few of the Serpents with a corner of his button-up shirt sticking out of his dress pants and his tie pulled down.

Jughead finally stopped right in front of him, giving Archie the most troublesome look. "Perhaps a girl who's more on your level of intelligence." He smirked, then brought his hand up to Archie's cheek and patted it twice.

Betty guessed he was either mocking his intelligence or hers, but it really didn't matter. She was a straight-A student and was told by many that she's street smart. She also reeked of good behavior and pristine characteristics, which were undoubtedly signs of your average bookworm.

Archie looked heated--his jaw flexed as he tried to hold back his words, but failed. "You're the one threatening a high school quarterback for money you know damn well they don't have. You're the real retard --" 

In an instant, Jughead swung his clenched fist as hard as he could, striking Archie in the face, which caused him to fall face down on the concrete. The other two Serpents lunged for the bleeding boy on the ground, kicking him in his gut. Archie spat a string of dark blood from his mouth as he groaned from the outrageous pain hitting his abdomen. It was three against one, and by the way they were profusely beating him to his near blackout, Archie didn't have a fighting chance of survival. 

Betty's breath hitched and she stared wide-eyed at the chaos in front of her. "Stop --" She croaked, then swallowed the harsh sound of her voice down her throat. 

"STOP!" She roared, and the two guys came to pause and looked up at Jughead, who was standing there watching the show in front of him.

"Please..." Her voice was shaky, and the blood left her face. "Please don't." 

Archie coughed up more blood as he squirmed on the ground. He tried to prop himself up, using both his hands, but one of the Serpents swung their leg and struck his stomach, causing him to fall limp on his side. 

Jughead raised his hand out, giving the Serpents the stop signal and turned his head, meeting her desperate eyes.

"How will he get you the money if you kill him?" She swallowed again, feeling the knot in her throat swell up. "I'll --" She hesitated on what she was about to say next. "I'll make sure he gets it to you." 

Jughead stared at her determinedly like he perceived the thoughts that flowed through her skull. 

She softened her eyes at him, trying to form an invisible string of trust that streamed from her eyes to his. She tried her hardest not to look away, but it seemed to be complicated. She didn't understand how someone's eyes could be so light and inviting, yet so dark and repellent at the same time. A wave of desire strung through her veins when he broke the invisible string. She sat there, eyes fixed on the back of his head, and suddenly, every bone in her body ached for more. 

"Two days." He looked down at Archie and knelt right next to his face. "You have two days to give me the $1500 you owe me..." He brought his face down to Archie's, settling his mouth right next to his ear. "...or I'll start taking heads." Archie coughed, then swallowed the remaining blood lingering in his mouth. 

Jughead stood back up, then made his way over to Betty. He pulled a silver key out of his back pocket and knelt by the metal pole she was still attached to. He inserted it into the handcuffs, and she heard a sudden click. He grabbed her forearm, removing her wrist from the silver metal and noticed the red lines circling her wrist. He wrapped his thumb and index finger around the throbbing area and rubbed it to ease the sting. "You didn't have to yank at the cuffs so damn hard to prove a point." He let go of her wrist.

She brought her wrist to her chest and kneaded it. She hadn't realized the handcuffs were too tight. "I didn't do it on purpose. Guess my wrist got tired of feeling pain from the other time your goons tightened something around it too tight," She snapped. Startled by her own attitude, she bit her tongue back from saying anything else. 

Jughead just scowled at her, a few seconds of silence washed over them before he put the key back in his pocket. "Go," he said with a grim voice. 

She didn't hesitate to prop herself onto her feet--her legs shakey from sitting on the hard ground too long. She dived down to the wounded red-head right in front of her. "Archie." Her tone was filled with concern. She rolled him over onto his back, and he let out a soft rumble from his throat. "Fuck." His voice sounded harsh. 

"Can you stand?" She slipped her hand underneath the back of his head, lifting it so the blood wouldn't suffocate him. 

He nodded before slowly sitting up, and she grabbed his hand to help steady him.

Her attention shifted when she saw Jughead walking away in the corner of her eye. 

"Betty." Archie grimaced, and her head quickly turned back to him. "Sorry." She pulled at his hand, trying to get him up. "Let's get you home."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this was her body telling her she needed more of it to live properly--to survive properly. 
> 
> Maybe this was her normal.

They were back in the truck, only this time, Betty had her arm wrapped around Archie's shoulders, clinging tightly to him as he softly moaned in pain. Jughead was the one driving this time, and there were no other passengers. It was difficult finding spots in the car to rest her eyes on because everything around her was so dark. She was sitting in the middle of the backseat and found comfort from the warm heat flowing out of the air vent connected to the head unit upfront. 

Jughead had one hand on the wheel and the other placed on his lap. His eyes showed up in the rearview mirror, and they gleamed enough for her to be drawn to them. She squirmed, trying to adjust herself on the seat due to the unsettling tone raying from them. 

His eyes were contagious. 

Maybe she favored the way they were a mystery to her--toxic, but endearing in an underlying sense. 

Maybe she was intimidated by them, so she found it best not to look away. 

Jughead kept alternating from the road to her, staring back at him in the mirror. She was surprised he hadn't grown tired of her longing stare, but then again, this was a guy who threatened to kill her just a few hours ago. He was most likely keeping his eyes fixed on hers to assert some type of dominance over her.

A minute had gone by, and Betty recognized the street he turned onto. She leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at the destination right in front of them. Jughead pulled over quickly, slamming on his breaks. "Get out," he said, and Betty looked through the passenger side window to get a better look at where they were. The high school was noticeably about a mile up ahead, and there was no way he was about to make them walk the rest of the way.

"No, what? You can't just make us walk. Archie can barely mov --"

"I don't care." He cut her off before she could finish. "Get out before I change my mind and drive back to the warehouse."

Betty paused, then turned her head to Archie. "Can you make it?"

Archie let out a breath like he had been holding it in for a few seconds. "Yeah, I'll be fine." 

Betty scooted across the seat and got out of the passenger side door. She walked around to Archie's side of the truck and opened the door for him. He slowly shifted himself, and Betty could tell Jughead was growing impatient.

As soon as Archie was out, she shut the door and turned to walk away, but was stopped by a hand grabbing her upper arm. She whimpered in response and jolted her body towards the arm extended out of Jughead's window. "Ah," she let out and walked closer to him so he would loosen his grip. 

He reached into his back pocket with his other hand, pulling out her phone. "I really don't wanna have to do this again," he said in a low, soft tone so Archie wouldn't hear. He handed her the phone, and she took it before taking a deep breath and nodding slowly, and the two of them exchanged a last-second glance at each other. Jughead let go of her arm, and she backed away from the car. She watched him roll up his window, then sped off, leaving her and Archie stranded on the side of the road.

She waited until he was nowhere in sight, then turned her phone on. As expected, her phone was busy with numerous calls and texts from not only her mother but Veronica, as well. She hesitated to call her mom because she knew she would bombard her with a bunch of questions Betty wouldn't know how to answer. After a moment of thought, she decided to call Veronica.

She put the phone up to her ear and listened to it ring. 

It went to voicemail, and she sighed. "Crap, Veronica." 

"Did she not answer?" Archie asked, holding his side in pain.

"No, she didn't." The school was about a mile up the road, and she knew it was going to take them a while to get to. "Do you think you could walk the rest of the way?" 

Archie didn't hesitate to nod. Even with the pain slowing his movements down, he was still determined to get them to where they needed to be. Archie started limping--his right foot dragging along the ground. Betty noticed his limp and caught up with him. She wrapped her left arm around his waist, resulting in him putting his weight on her as he draped his arm over her shoulders. She wished she wasn't wearing the highest pair of heels she owned. Everything about her outfit was the worst decision she had ever made, and she wished she had stuck with the comfortable flats and a pink dress that concealed her body. She hadn't looked in a mirror since she left her house for the dance, and her heart dropped at the thought of her makeup smeared all over her face. 

_Oh, gosh. The red lipstick!_

She wanted to stop in the middle of the sidewalk to check her front camera but knew her makeup smearing, and the possibility of her looking like an ugly mess right now should be the least of her worries. 

She wasn't _that_ self-absorbed. 

Or maybe she was. 

But either way, tending Archie's pain was a bigger priority. 

_Smeared makeup will just have to wait._

It was almost 2 a.m. by the time they made it back to the school. Her feet were killing her, so she decided to take off her shoes. "Why didn't I do this .6 miles ago?" She winced from the leftover pain she had while still wearing the heels.

Archie leaned against a car still parked in the parking lot. "How are we going to get home? Reggie drove."

_Shoot._

"Uh..." She stared at her phone, wondering who she should call this late at night.

_Money._

_A cab._

"Do you have your wallet on you, Archie?" 

He nodded, still leaned down against the hood of the car. "It's in my pocket." He struggled to get it out--he seemed to have been relying on the car to keep him from falling to the ground. "Here." He handed it to her, and she grabbed it from him. 

She went on her phone and searched for a local cab service nearby. She found a ride right away, and they waited for it to arrive. 

Thirty minutes later, the cab pulled up to Archie's house, and Betty got out of the car with him. 

"I'll call you tomorrow, Betty," he said before turning to his front porch. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast." She stopped him, and Archie gave her a puzzling look. 

"You're just going to go to bed? Your dad's going to ask what happened to you tonight. What are you going to tell him?" There were a million questions that popped inside her brain. A million possible things to consider and neither one of them were prepared. 

“God, I don’t know, Betty.” He exhaled in frustration. “I’ll figure it out tomorrow. I’m tired, and I want to go to bed.” His sudden hostile attitude surprised her.

She stood there in shock. ”What is your problem?”

“Why did you run off when I asked you if you wanted to be my girlfriend,” he spat out, not letting a second of thought go by.

She didn’t know how to respond. Truthfully, with everything that happened to her tonight, that lingering question didn’t end up gnawing away at her brain like she thought it would. 

She swallowed and bit her lip back between her teeth as she tried to find an answer on his face. “I...” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

He sighed, closed his eyes, and looked down at his black dress shoes. 

They stood there for a few seconds, both of them scrambling to find the right words to say.

”I just... I don’t know what I want.” She choked up, tears fighting to stay in the linings of her eyes. She couldn’t possibly tell him that the thought of saying yes to him terrified her. Archie was always associated with her future--a future that already seemed too decided. She wanted nothing more than to give in to the perfect life she could have with him or, at least, the perfect life she could have _had_ with him. She didn't know. Everything that happened tonight gave the word _perfect_ a different meaning. 

"Archie --"

"No, Betty, I get it," he said in a discouraging voice. "I always knew there was something missing between us." He looked down at the ground, dragging his shoe across the top of his other one. "I just never thought it was your feelings for me." He looked back up at her, sadness overwhelming his face.

"What? No. I do have feelings for you," she argued.

"You don't." He shrugged his shoulders. "Heh," he let out a breath, giving a fake smile, and she could really see the hurt in his eyes now. "That's the problem." His voice raised. "Your feelings were never there."

She opened her mouth to argue again, but she was at a loss for words. She didn't know if any word would make this conversation easier, and she knew lying wouldn't do either one of them any good.

His gaze was uncomfortable, and she desperately wanted to look away. "I tried to get you to go out with me in the eighth grade, do you remember that?" 

She shook her head in disbelief. "What? No, you didn't."

"I did... but you thought me asking you was a joke, so you brushed it off." 

She started to reconcile that exact moment, and she remembered him playing it off as a joke, as well.

"And now I realize it was because deep down you knew my feelings for you weren't just a joke. You were afraid."

"You're one of my best friends, Archie. I didn't want to ruin our friendship!" She raised her voice, wanting to dominate his, but the fury in his eyes predicted the volume of his next words.

"We were never really friends! We were never _just_ friends!" He howled, and Betty felt the air start to thicken.

"What?" She let out breathlessly.

There was a wave of overbearing silence between the two, and she was afraid he didn't have anything else to say. He continued to stare at her coldly, and she felt like she had just lost her best friend forever.

"Real friends don't have feelings for each other." His voice was softer now, and the way his eyes went from sad to angry to utter blankness made her stomach churn. 

The tears were now streaming down the side of her cheek. The light turned on inside Archie's house, and Betty sniffled, wiping the dripped saltwater from her face. She turned her head like she was avoiding eye contact with him or whoever was about to walk out of Archie's house.

"I'm sorry about tonight." His voice was soft again, and he walked up a step on his front porch before turning back to her. "I'll deal with those Serpents myself, okay? I promise I'll figure it out on my own." 

She gave him a worrisome look before he walked up the rest of the staircase.

He left her standing there on a brisk night. The temperature of the air matching with the loss of heat from her face, and she started to feel sick. She wanted to cry away the pain he caused her tonight. She wanted to go back to her safe place--cheering for him on the sidelines while he scored the winning touchdown. She wanted to feel the wind against her face, howling in her ears as she crashed her pom-poms together. She wanted to feel normal again. She yearned for that bit of normality she had been holding onto for so many years. But after tonight, she knew it was gone.

As she walked to her own front door, she noticed every last rush of adrenaline that fueled her body tonight went completely dormant. She felt empty now.

Felt unreal.

And maybe this was her body negatively responding to the physical effects it gave her.

Maybe this was her body telling her she needed more of it to live properly--to _survive_ properly. 

Maybe this was her normal.

She reached for the doorknob but stopped herself from turning it. For all she knew, her mother would be on the other side of the door, and Betty wasn't in the mood, not tonight. She forced herself to turn around and walked off the porch to the grassy lawn right out front. She stared down at the ground, forcing herself not to think. Before she knew it, she was sprawled out on her back, the grass itching every square inch of bare skin on her body. She stared up at the stars with a lifeless expression on her face--the adrenaline emerged its way back through.

She was now _addicted_.

And she needed a fix. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're not going to be smiling when he kills you," she joked.

_There’s a moment when you wake up, and for a few seconds, you forget where you are or what worries you had before you went to sleep._

Betty slowly opened her eyelids; the sun being the only object in sight as it burned her eyelids shut. She kept trying to force them open, but her lack of sleep and the blinding radiation piercing her skull made it extremely difficult to.

_This was one of those moments._

She sat up on the itchy grass, her hand used as a shield to block the sun from her eyes. She saw a blurry figure standing a few feet in front of her.

"Are you okay?" The voice was feminine and unrecognizable. She widened her eyes, trying to adjust them and was finally able to see the woman standing in front of her. 

She nodded hesitantly. "Oh, uh, yeah." She brushed the grass off her arms and legs. 

"I was driving by, and I saw you lying in the grass. I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt." The woman's voice was kind and sweet. Betty was surprised someone even stopped to check on her.

"I'm fine. I live here." She awkwardly smiled at the woman as she contemplated whether or not she should get up or continue sitting in the grass.

"Do you need help getting inside?" The woman asked. 

"Oh, no! No, no, no." Betty finally rose to her feet, then patted down her dress, trying to locate her phone before she looked down at the ground and saw it lying there. She bent down to pick it up, then wiped it against her dress, trying to get the dirt off. 

"I was just avoiding my mother, who is probably sitting in her bedroom, worried sick about me, so..." She started walking to the brick sidewalk that led to her front door, then stopped to turn back to the woman. "Have a good day." She smiled at her before she reached her front door. She knew the woman was still standing there and was probably waiting for Betty to head inside. She couldn't back out now. She had to face the inevitable and walk inside. She slowly started to turn the doorknob, noticing her mother had left it unlocked for her. She cracked it open and peeked her head inside. There was no Alice in sight. _Thank God._

She sneakily walked inside, and shut the door quietly behind her. She took off her heels so that they wouldn't make a loud sound on the hardwood floor; then she tiptoed to the staircase. She made it up one step before her body jolted back in surprise when she heard someone clearing their throat. She immediately rotated her head and saw her mom standing in the kitchen with her arms crossed at her chest, giving Betty a disappointed look.

She exhaled, trying to release the anxiety that just crawled upon her. "Mom..." She said in a low voice. "I... I can explain."

"Oh, sure, Betty." She threw her arms up in the air dramatically, then let them fall back down. "I know you probably have some kind of explanation that you think will ease my mind, but there is no explanation that will justify you being out _all_ night." 

_How about the fact that I was kidnapped by some gang members because the boy you desperately want me to marry owes them fifteen hundred fucking dollars? Is that a good enough reason for you, mom?_

Of course, she couldn't tell her mom the real reason, even if she wanted to. She knew if she told her the truth, then her mom would try to get involved somehow by either going to the sheriff or telling Archie's mom and dad, so they would have to go to the sheriff. And Betty knew those Serpents would most likely come after her knowing she disrespected them by yammering her mouth. 

She tried to force an excuse out, but nothing even remotely convincing was coming to her brain. She thought about a million reasons as to why someone would be out all night. None of them seemed to be better than the actual reason. She thought about Archie and why he would be out all night, as well. She thought about the thing she knew her mother frowned upon. The one act Betty liked to imagine inside her head--the image of her and a faceless boy, together, because in her imagination, the boy wasn't Archie. She had always turned her nose up at the realistic aspects of her life, so why build her own fantasy to be realistic too?

She knew her mother would ground her for a month for what she was about to tell her, but it was either this or telling her mom the truth, and Betty would rather take the truth and bury it with her.

"Archie and I had sex," she blurted out.

She didn't realize how loud her words were until she heard them echoing throughout the house. She puckered her lips, then pulled them back between her teeth as she stared at her mom's jaw that fell to the floor. 

She held back a chuckle from escaping her throat. Her confidence in her sentence is what amused her. Never in a million years would Betty ever admit to her mother that she had sex, so it was quite a shock to hear those words come out of her own mouth. 

"You and Archie... had what?" She knew her mother heard her loud and clear, so her wanting Betty to repeat those words was bizarre.

She cleared her throat, making sure her voice wouldn’t waver. "Had sex."

Her mom brought her index finger up, signaling to not say another word. She then put her hands on her hips disapprovingly, and Betty sensed a negative shift in her mother’s body language. "I know those words did not just come out of my daughter's mouth."

"Oh, relax. I'm 17." She was throwing words out there--stringing sentences together, hoping she'd sound like a typical teenager trying to get away with losing her virginity to her high school crush. 

Alice looked appalled, eyes wide and eyebrows raised to the top of her head like she didn't recognize the young girl standing in front of her. "Exactly, Elizabeth Cooper! You are 17 years old. You're still just a kid."

Betty stopped her mind from overthinking. She let the words roll off her tongue. "Oh, okay. How old were you when you lost your virginity? 15, right?" 

"That doesn't matter --" Alice began, but was cut off by Betty talking over her. 

"My point exactly --”

"I'm trying to make sure you don't make the same mistakes that I did," she interrupted.

"That's not your decision, mom!" She raised her voice at her. "Let me make mistakes. Let me be who I am, and if I screw up, then fine. At least I'll learn from them."

"That is not --"

"I'm going to bed." Betty cut her off as she turned, taking another step up the stairs. 

"Elizabeth, get back down here!" Her mother yelled after her, and Betty froze with her back stubbornly facing her.

"As long as you live under my roof, you will abide by my rules."

Betty turned to look at her.

"From this moment on, you are grounded."

"What?!" She pretended to act shocked, stomping back down the two steps. 

"That means no TV, no friends, no parties, no phone after 9 p.m.--" Alice counted on her fingers.

"Mom!"

"--for two weeks." She held up her hand to show her index and middle finger.

"Okay! I made a mistake! Sorry for having sex," she said sarcastically and unapologetically.

Alice put her hands back on her hips and scoffed at Betty's attitude. "I'm not grounding you for having sex; I'm grounding you because you failed to call me to let me know where the hell you were. I was worried sick about you."

_Sorry, mom, a leader of a dangerous gang was warming up my phone for me in his jean pocket._

"Oh, I was supposed to call you to tell you I was having sex?" 

Her mom huffed in frustration. "Well, why did you stay out all night? You could've at least texted me to tell me you were all right."

"I..." She was suddenly stuck in her own thoughts, fumbling to get words out. "I fell asleep."

Her mom crossed her arms at her chest and gave her daughter a disappointed look.

"Archie and I were in the back of his truck, and we sort of... lost track of time and fell asleep."

"I would've called you, mom. I swear."

"I'm sorry." Her tone died down, and her voice became sincere. She was already tired of the conversation and wanted to get a few more hours of sleep in. Sincere apologies usually shut her mom up.

"Mm-hm." Alice shook her head at her as she clenched her teeth and flared her nostrils. "You're still grounded."

Betty sighed as she shut her eyes, trying to hold back an explosive attack from forming. "Fine. All right, whatever." She rolled her eyes under her eyelids, then slowly opened them to her mother walking back to the kitchen. That conversation may have been fake in her mind, but she couldn't help but feel her skin crawl from her annoyingly overbearing mother. Even when Betty didn't do anything, she still felt like the worst daughter in the world when it came to Alice constantly getting under her skin. 

In her bedroom, she sat down on her bed, legs flailing out from under her. She felt a pressure on her body like a small cat had just sprawled out on top of her. She couldn't move; her body felt like it was dead weight as she stared blankly at the ceiling. She felt her head start to spin, her eyes grew heavier, and she knew if she didn't get up within the next few seconds, she would pass out in her dress once again. As she gave in to the drowsiness that crept up on her--eyes closed shut, she heard a ding that made her heart jump inside her head. She quickly sat up and looked down at the lit phone next to her hip. She picked it up and saw Archie's name displayed across the screen. 

_Oh, shoot._

She read the message as she slid her thumb across the screen to reveal their text messages. 

**_Archie: Are you all right?_ **

She looked up at her window that was hiding behind her pink curtains. She stood up, then walked over to the window. She pulled back the curtains and saw Archie on the other side of his. He was holding his phone and was sitting in a chair like he was waiting for her. She looked back down at her phone, and her thumbs started dancing over the keys.

**_Betty: Yeah, I fell asleep on the couch downstairs._ **

Archie immediately read the message and nodded with understanding. 

**_Betty: How're your bruises?_ **

She saw a sly smile appear across his face.

_**Archie: I'm a lot better today. I told my dad I got into a fight at the dance.** _

She could tell he chuckled when he looked back up at her.

**_Betty: Didn't ask why you were out so late?_ **

**_Archie: Nah, he didn't notice. He said he fell asleep early last night._ **

**_..._ **

**_Archie: Before the time I said I would be home._ **

She stared at him a little too long, contemplating whether she should ask him what’s been on her mind. Whatever his answer would be, she knew it wouldn't be good. Inhaling deeply, Betty looked back down at their messages, then started typing random letters as if she was warming her thumbs up for whatever she was about to make them type. 

**_Betty: Archie?_ **

**_Archie: Yeah?_ **

**_..._ **

**_Betty: Why do you owe the Serpents so much money?_ **

His face drooped--corners of his mouth curled down as he stared at his phone screen. She regretted asking him over text message but knew it had to be done. The three dots appeared on her screen again, and she bit her bottom lip anxiously as she waited for a reply. 

**_Archie: I offered_ ** **_to do them a favor_ **

**_..._ **

**_Archie: Selling drugs for them._ **

Her heart sunk to her stomach as she read the words over the white text bubbles. She couldn't believe it.

_Drug dealing?_

She mouthed, "what?!" And Archie kept his eyes fixed on his phone as if he was too embarrassed to look up at her. She glared at him through his window, ghosting the messages he just sent. She groaned in frustration as she clenched her fist and banged on her glass window, trying to get his attention. He still didn't react but scratched his head instead while his right thumb started to move over his screen.

**_Archie: I was selling to some guys on the football team because I needed the money._ **

**_Betty: Why?!_ **

She was heated. She couldn't fathom the thoughts that ran through his head when he decided drug dealing was a good idea. Everyone needs money, but it takes a lot for someone to go to extreme lengths to get it. Archie was a jock--a typical white male quarterback, who can score four touchdowns in one half. He was a smart guy on the field, got average grades, and could do a crazy amount of pull-ups. He was a lot of things and had good intentions most of the time, but his good intentions didn't always result in the smartest decisions. 

**_Archie: My dad's sick, Betty._ **

_...  
_

_Well, yeah. That's definitely a good reason._

Her sympathetic eyes must've been too much for him to handle. He got up out of his chair and walked out of sight. Betty stood there with her phone pressed against her chest, and her vision sprang back--now staring at her own reflection in front of her. She tapped her phone against her chest a couple of times before she turned her back to the window. She wanted to run over to his house and give him the biggest hug she's ever given, but they were both in an odd place. With this new information, she suddenly felt even worse about rejecting him. She wished she could erase time--go back in it when they were both 11 years old and secretly crushing on each other.

Life was so much simpler then. 

"You and Archie were where!?"

It was Monday afternoon; Betty and Veronica were sitting at their usual lunch spot in the courtyard at school.

"Those Serpents abducted you?" Veronica's eyes were wide with shock, soda dripping from her lips after she spat most of the liquid out.

"I wouldn't call it abduction... per se... it was more like a negotiation."

The brunette gave her a bemused look. "Negotiation?"

"They--" She stabbed her lettuce with her fork. "--told me Archie owed them money, so I surrendered and let them take me in exchange for leaving Archie alone." She took a bite from the salad she had sitting on her tray. 

"Okay, I seriously doubt that happened." She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her soda. "They still managed to beat the hell out of Archie, so obviously they didn't take your little negotiation as seriously as you did."

"Okay, so I was kidnapped, but it's not like I was screaming my head off or anything like that." She picked up a wedge of lettuce with her fingers and started picking it apart. "You can't tell anyone, though. Archie's going through enough right now. I don't want this getting out, and the Serpents chop his head off or something." She threw the pieces of lettuce back down in her salad container one by one. "Or stab him to death. I don't know how gangs work."

"Why does he owe them money anyway?" Veronica asked curiously as she popped a grape into her mouth.

"He was dealing drugs for them apparently." 

Veronica choked on her drink again as she took a sip. She repeatedly coughed, and Betty looked around, hoping no one was distracted by them.

"He needed money because... because his dad is sick."

Veronica cleared her throat and wiped her mouth with the napkin that was lying across her lap. "What?" She set the napkin back down. "Sick how?"

Betty shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't say, but I'm guessing his dad might have some type of cancer. Maybe he needed money for treatment."

"Wow," Veronica said softly.

Betty swallowed and set her fork down, abandoning her food. She sighed, then the two of them sat in silence for a moment.

"I just wish there was something I could say... or do." She stared down and gently started fingering the blue holes in the picnic table. "I just don't really know how."

Veronica fell into a daze as she watched her friend's fingers trace the outline of the holes. "I'm terrible at giving advice on how to be sympathetic, but maybe you could figure out a way to help Archie pay the debt he owes to the Serpents."

Betty looked up at her friend with a puzzling look. "What?" She couldn't believe her ears. "I don't have that kind of money, and it's not like my mom would hand me $1500."

"Okay, fine. It was just a suggestion." She popped another grape into her mouth and checked her phone. "Lunch is almost over." She started packing up her stuff. "I have to check the mirror before we go to class, so hurry up." She started getting up, and Betty quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Wait."

Veronica froze. "What?"

Betty's face relaxed, and it lightened up like a lightbulb just turned on inside her head. "Do you know where the Serpents hang out?"

Veronica plopped back in her seat. "No, Betty Cooper. You are not going over there," she said sternly.

She snapped her fingers, then pointed her index finger at her. "So you do know?" 

She rolled her eyes and huffed out a sharp breath. "Only because I've heard people talk about it."

Betty raised her left brow, signaling to her friend to keep talking. 

Veronica inhaled keenly through her nose, then out her mouth. "I don't know where the bar is exactly, but I know people refer to it as The Wyrm. I think it's probably located on the Southside, and anyone who goes there is crazy." She raised her voice at the end of that sentence and gave Betty an obvious look of judgment. 

"V, it's like you said, I have to do something to help Archie. Maybe I can convince Jughead or Forsythe or whatever the hell his name is to ease off Archie." She knew it was a risk, but her friend was right. If she couldn't comfort Archie properly about his dad's illness, maybe this would make up for it.

"Forsythe..." Veronica squinted her eyes, bit down on her bottom lip and sucked a small vacuum of air through her teeth. "Is that the one who scratched my car?" 

"No, that was Sweet Pea."

"Sweet Pea?" She curled the corners of her mouth upwards and raised her eyebrows in amusement. "What is with these names?"

Betty shrugged her shoulders. "No idea." She was about to tell Veronica about Jughead's odd performance whenever she tried to call him Jughead, but she was too occupied on convincing her to come with, she didn't want the conversation to move off track. "So will you come with?"

"Come with where?" Like Veronica didn't know what Betty was implying.

"To go talk to him. I can't go alone, and plus, I need a ride. We can go after cheer practice." She then gave her a pouty look like she was some damsel in distress.

Veronica shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no." She immediately shut her down.

"Come on, Veronica. Please." Betty slumped her shoulders and tilted her head back a bit like her entire body was desperate.

"Hell no! For one, I'm not your chauffeur. Two, I prefer my life, okay? I actually value it, thank you very much." 

"I won't let anything happen to you," she said confidentially, and Veronica scoffed.

"Oh, okay. What are you going to do? Block the bullet when it comes shooting out of his gun?" The mocking tone in her voice made Betty roll her eyes.

"He doesn't own a gun." 

_Okay, but he probably does._

"You don't know that!" Veronica raised her voice, and Betty knew people around them heard her that time.

"Shh!" Betty shushed her and looked around. "Okay, okay," she softened her voice, now talking in a low whisper. "How about you wait in the car while I go talk to him?"

Veronica ducked her head down and sighed as she leaned her elbows on the table. She inched her face closer to Betty's and whispered, "what if you get abducted again, or he hurts you? I'm not going to be able to fight a whole gang off, and I can't just stand idly by."

"Then I give you permission to go get help," she said calmly, trying to reassure her. 

Veronica gazed into Betty's eyes for a few seconds, trying to feel a sense of comfort from them. "Okay..." She finally agreed. "Fine."

Betty gave her a thankful smile and clapped her hands together. "Thank you." 

"You're not going to be smiling when he kills you," she joked.

Betty swallowed as she forced a smile. "Heh. Yeah."

"Can we go to the bathroom now? I really have to check the mirror." Veronica stood up and walked over to a trash can to throw her food away.

Betty clenched her mouth shut and wiped a few beads of sweat off her jeans before she grabbed her tray of food, then followed after her.

The moon was lit, the green LED lights gleamed from the snake logo on the side of the Whyte Wyrm, and Betty was staring at a reflection of the lights on a car window. 

Her and Veronica were parked in the parking lot of the bar, and Betty started picking the skin off her scabs that were arranged across her sweaty palm. She took a deep breath, then swallowed, hoping her anxiety would somehow leave her chest. 

"Okay..." She rubbed her hands together. "I'm going." Before her hand reached the passenger side door handle, she felt a hand connect to her thigh. 

"Wait." 

Betty looked at the hand grabbing her thigh, then at Veronica. 

Her friend breathed in and out through her nose as she looked back at the building behind them. "I'm coming with you."

Betty widened her eyes, and a troubling look ran across her face. "What? No, V."

"Betty... I'm coming," she said, managing to keep her eyes deadlocked with hers. "I can't let you go in there alone."

Betty opened her mouth to stay something, but before she could, Veronica unbuckled her own seatbelt and shut her car off. 

The two gave each other a quick look as they both reached for their door handles and got out of the car simultaneously. 

Veronica was first to take the first few steps towards the building, and Betty followed behind. They were walking towards the front door to get inside, and she noticed a few bikers hanging out right outside the door.

_What the hell was I thinking?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His mischievous eyes landed on hers. "I'll be seeing you." 

As they sluggishly walked past the bikers, the humidity in the air and the ray of lights coming from the neon sign made her feel a little intoxicated. She tried not to look the men in the eye directly but felt them gazing in her direction. Veronica opened the door and walked inside first, making her feel a little cowardly. As they both got through the door, cigarette smoke and whiskey burned the inside of her nose. Betty shuffled through the crowded bar, making her way in front of Veronica, so she was ahead of her. She scanned the room full of drunken gang members, and not a single one of them was the man she was looking for. A queasy sensation built up in her stomach when she noticed a few men giving her a hungry stare, eyes finding their way up and down her body. She thanked her past self, who told her it was a good idea to wear jeans and a shirt that covered her entire backside. When she couldn't find the face she was looking for, Betty made her way over to the bar where a young girl with purple-tinted hair and an inviting smile was pouring drinks. The girl was too distracted by a couple of guys who looked twice her age to notice Betty leaned against the bar with her left side supporting her weight as she faced Veronica, who took a seat in the barstool next to her. 

"Do you not see him anywhere?" Veronica asked, and Betty shook her head in disappointment. 

Veronica's voice must've caught the bartender's attention because after Betty had looked around the bar one last time, she jumped at the sudden presence of the purple-haired girl who was now standing right in front of them. "What can I get you two?" Her welcoming voice and faux smile seemed a bit forced. Betty peered down at the 'Toni' written on the girl's name tag. 

Betty and Veronica both looked at each other, unsure of how to respond at first.

Toni raised her eyebrows at the two of them, then gave Betty a judgemental scan up and down her body. "Do you guys have ID?"

Betty sat down on the barstool, resting her forearms on the sticky bar. "Um... no. I'm actually here to see Jugh-- Forsythe," she quickly caught herself. "I need to talk to him."

The girl stared at her, blinking a few times like she was trying to register what Betty had just said. "You're kidding, right?" She half-smiled and raised her left brow at her. 

Confused by her reaction, Betty furrowed her eyebrows and swallowed. "I'm sorry...?"

"You're here to talk to Forsythe? What do you have, a death wish, or something?" She grabbed the damp cloth that was draped over her shoulder and started wiping down the sticky bar. "Or are you a horny teenager who wants to get in bed with the 20-year-old gang leader?" 

Betty awkwardly smiled at the girl's words, then swallowed again, trying to moisten the dryness that appeared in her throat. There was an uncomfortable silence between the three girls, and she was having a hard time breaking it. 

Veronica noticed her distraughtness and swooped in. "Our friend owes him some money. She just needs to talk to him about that."

The dryness in her throat was now affecting her mouth. She smacked her lips a few times, then stopped when she noticed her friend and the girl behind the bar giving her an odd expression. She cleared her throat and patted the damp counter with her hands, drawing even more attention to herself. "Can I have some water?"

Toni rolled her eyes, then proceeded to bend down, grabbing what appeared to be a clean glass from underneath the bar counter and filled it up with fresh water. She slid it over to Betty, who thanked her with a small smile and inahled every last drop of it. When finished, she slammed the glass down and swallowed the last bit of liquid in her mouth forcefully, making a gulping sound.

The two stared at her like she had just shamelessly chugged an entire bottle of whiskey. "What?" She questioned their expressions. 

"Someone's thirsty." Veronica chuckled, and Betty wiped a droplet of water off her lip with her pointer finger knuckle. 

"Yeah," she said hoarsely, followed with a clearing of her throat. "Yeah. Sorry. My throat was just a little dry." She gathered the confidence to speak again. "I'm just looking for him. That's all."

Toni swung the wet cloth over her shoulder and placed her hands on the bar, preparing herself for their conversation. "You don't just look for Forsythe." Her face turned serious. "He looks for you." She bent over the counter, now leaning on her forearms. "Look, you seem like a nice girl, which is why I feel like it's my place to tell you that this isn't a bar you can just waltz right into. Look around." Her voice lowered. "Every single one of these guys has killed." 

Betty opened her mouth slightly, letting air find its way through her parted lips. She gazed at the girl's eyes, noticing she hadn't blinked in a while. The girl's frightening words attracted pressure to her own chest, and suddenly, Betty felt like she was too aware of her breathing. She turned her head, examining the room full of bikers with snake tattoos and beer bottles in their hands. 

She felt the heat radiating from the girl's body as she noticed her leaning closer to her. "Notice the side-eyes half of them are giving you? That's because you have a giant target on your back right now," she said in an even lower voice. "Like a rabbit in the middle of a pack of wolves. So whatever your friend owes, let him deal with it himself because when it goes down, and Jones is fed up with not getting what he wants, he won't hesitate to charge." She straightened back up. "And trust me, you don't wanna get yourself caught in the crossfire." She got distracted by a man whistling, shaking his half-empty glass full of ice at her. She huffed. "One sec," she said to her before walking over to the man.

Betty peeked at Veronica, who was pulling a piece of gum out of her purse and started unwrapping it. "This place is scary," she said, still eyeing the gum, then stuck it in her mouth. 

She nodded in agreement before side-eyeing a guy sitting at the opposite end of the bar, who was staring at her coldly. She crossed her arms uncomfortably and turned away. The girl walked back to her position in front of them and started filling an empty glass with bourbon. "Do yourself a favor, go home, and don't come back." She set the bottle full of bourbon down on the counter. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you to stay away from the Southside?" She picked up a tiny straw and dropped it in the glass. "Should've listened to her." She walked back over to the man, handing him the beverage. 

Truthfully, her mom always did warn her about the Southside, but she never mentioned the Serpents. Betty always visioned the Southside as the place on the other side of the tracks--forbidden and rundown. One step over the train tracks, and you'll be swooped away by a mean man who preys on little kids. 

"B, let's just get out of here," Veronica said in a loud whisper as she grabbed her arm. 

"No." Betty yanked her arm out of her friend's grip. "I'm not leaving until I talk to him."

Veronica sighed, and Betty walked around the bar to where Toni was hovered over the counter, giving the man a friendly smile as he took a sip of his alcoholic beverage. 

"Is he even here?" She talked over the drunk conversation by two bearded men happening next to her.

The girl sighed, clearly irritated by Betty's persistence. "No."

"Well, do you know where he is?" She flung her arms up in the air, then dropped them back down dramatically.

"No. No one keeps tabs on him. He comes and goes whenever he pleases." 

"But I just --"

"Look..." She cut her off. "Pay the debt you owe or don't make drug deals with dangerous gang members. That simple."

"No, but that's the problem --"

"Is that your natural hair color, or is that blonde hair dye seeping to your brain?" She heard a few chuckles in the background. "What part of 'get the hell out of here' do you not understand?" Her voice was firm and the tone she performed made Betty's face flush with embarrassment. The laughing in the background didn't calm the embarrassing feeling, and she knew she had to get out of there. She glanced over at Veronica, who was still sitting down in the same spot and met her eyes. She gave a quick nod in the direction of the exit, but for some reason, Veronica's attention wasn't on Betty, it was a couple of inches away from her. Betty turned her body curiously to the spot Veronica had her eyes glued on, and the body a few inches in front of her restricted her from moving any further. She scanned the man from his torso up to his inflamed expression. She recognized that fit, the blue-green eyes, and the menacing stare anywhere. It was _him_.

"Hi --" She swallowed, the word getting caught in her throat. "Can I..." She pulled her sleeves down, bunching them into her palms. "Can I please talk to you?"

Jughead looked up at the purple-haired girl behind the bar, giving her the same threatening expression.

Toni threw her hands up in defense. "Hey, I tried to tell her."

His nostrils flared when he let out a low grumble, then before she knew it, his hand had a firm hold on her upper arm. He led the way, her following slightly behind. They shuffled through the bar and walked out of an exit at the back of the bar. Their surroundings were dimly lit as there wasn't much light in the back, and the area was deserted. After the door shut behind them, he let go of her arm. "What the hell are you doing here?"

His voice was angry, and the chilled air wasn't the only thing that sent goosebumps down her arms. "I want you to leave Archie alone."

He scoffed, looking amused at her words, then started digging into his leather jacket pocket.

"He doesn't have any money. Okay? He needed the money in the first place to... to pay for his dad's treatment."

Jughead pulled out a cigarette from the carton and placed it between his teeth, not bothering to look at her while she talked. 

"His dad is sick."

He flicked his lighter and proceeded to light it. Placing the carton and lighter back into his pocket, he looked up at her as the lit cigarette wiggled between his teeth. "That's not really my problem... Is it?" He took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Man, you'd really risk it for this little boyfriend of yours, huh?" He inhaled another puff of smoke before exhaling it out and Betty was forced to breathe in the toxic fumes. 

"He's not my boyfriend." She bit her tongue back, unsure why she had to feed him that bit of information. It wasn't any of his business, but she couldn't hold back. "I mean, he's not- we're not..." She stopped herself, feeling foolish for continuing and sighed. "It's complicated."

"Really? Because I've had my eye on Andrews for a while now. I saw you guys at the football game together. The innocent blonde cheerleader dating the high school quarterback." He scoffed. "Figured you both were just a cliché."

"Well, we're not dating," she said defensively.

"Right..." He put the cigarette between his teeth again and leaned against the brick wall.

She watched his movements, eyes fixated on the way he positioned himself so nonchalantly. "Is that why you were there that game? You were keeping an eye on Archie?"

He raised his eyebrows up and down, signaling like a nod. 

She scrunched her own in disbelief. "Why did he pretend like he didn't know who you were?" 

Jughead didn't answer. Instead, he gave her a repulsive look, then turned away. 

"Okay... Are you not going to answer me?"

He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "No, because I don't remember giving you permission to ask me questions." 

She raised her eyebrows in surprise at his upfront words. "What?" Betty let out a soft exhale, then found herself holding her breath for a few seconds as she grew anxious at the next set of words that popped into her head. "Well, I don't need your permission," she said softly, the words floating under her breath.

"Excuse me?" His expression grew dark again as he unglued himself from the wall. "What did you just say to me?" He slowly walked over to her and Betty found it hard to meet his deadly stare. She watched his black combat boots make their way over to her, waiting until they were just a couple of feet in front of her, and then she looked up at his darkening eyes. She felt a rush of adrenaline run through her chest, making her heart skip a beat. "I said I don't need your permission." She was shocked by the fear leaving her body. Maybe it was the second-hand smoke or the leftover adrenaline she got from walking into the bar, but she felt lighter--felt more resilient, and she wanted to keep testing just how far she could go.

His face landed a few feet in front of hers. "No?"

Betty shook her head.

Before she had time to react, Jughead dropped his cigarette, and his right arm snaked around her waist, grabbing her right arm and spun her around so her back was against his front. He grabbed her left wrist and had her arms locked behind her back. Her chest heaved as she arched her body back a little, resting her shoulder blades against his chest. The touch of his warm breath against her ear sent chills down her spine. "Do you wanna try that again?" His soft voice vibrated inside her ear, causing Betty to let out a small whimper before she swallowed it down, trying to tame herself. She didn't dare to try to get out of his grip. He was much stronger than her--reflexes quicker, and with her legs suddenly feeling a bit weaker, she decided to relax into his hold. 

"I said... do you wanna try that again?" She could feel his hot breath against her ear, and Betty was aware of his lips being half an inch away, almost brushing against her skin.  "Huh?" He tightened his grip while shaking her arms, trying to get a reaction out of her. 

"Yes," she said breathlessly and felt his knuckles digging into her back, so she arched her back more, sticking her chest out farther. There was a moment of silence and all she could hear was their heavy breathing intertwined with one another.

"Do you need my permission? Yes or no?" He crisscrossed her arms behind her back, letting go of one of them, then straightened her up and quickly pressed his front against her back, so her arms were trapped between their two bodies. She opened her mouth, almost letting out a sound of discomfort. He snaked his left hand around her face and grabbed her chin, making her turn her head to the side. His face was just a few inches away from hers, and she couldn't help but stare directly into his eyes. "Answer me," he whispered, and her eyes fell to his lips. 

"Yes," she whispered back. 

"Yes, what?"

She was still breathing heavily, and she didn't understand why. She thought it could've been from the adrenaline and the pain coming from his harsh grip, but found herself craving more of it with each second that passed by. "Yes, I need your permission." Her eyes kept alternating from his glistening eyes down to his parted lips, and an unfamiliar rush of sensation built in her chest. 

He let go of her, and the sensation stopped. "And I need you... to watch that mouth of yours around here," he said firmly and walked around her, so he was standing in front of her. "Don't come to _my_ territory, batting those long eyelashes and sticking out that bottom lip of yours, and start demanding favors from me. Your little boyfriend, toyboy, or whatever the hell he is better give me my money by tomorrow." He smirked. "Or maybe I could make his life a little easier and go after his father. Might save him a lot of money anyway."

She gave him a repulsive look. "You're disgusting."

He couldn't hold back a smile. "Tame... but I've heard a lot worse."

She rolled her eyes and breathed in deeply. She had to find a deal she could make with him that would result in him leaving Archie alone. Truthfully, the amount could be a lot more, and she remembered she had a few hundred dollars saved in a shoebox that was hidden in the back of her closet. Plus, her mom had some money saved in the bank. "What if I... could get you the money?"

He crossed his arms at his chest, then lifted his chin, signaling to keep talking.

"If I was able to give you the money by tomorrow, would you leave Archie alone?" She clenched her fist tightly down by her side, digging her nails into her palm. 

"I would have no reason to keep badgering him."

"Okay." She sighed with relief. "I can get it to you." She relaxed her hand. "Tomorrow."

He nodded slowly and unsurely as he examined her like he was trying to dig into her mind.

"Should I meet you somewhere?" She asked.

"No." 

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Just go about your day, and I'll see you when I see you."

"But how will I know when --"

"Goodbye, Elizabeth." His raspy voice cut her off. That name irritated her, and it sounded even worse coming from an arrogant asshole's mouth. 

He walked over to the door and opened it. He stood there holding it open, and it took her a second to realize that he was waiting for her to walk inside first. 

She did, and after a few seconds, she heard the door shut behind her. As she was walking through the bar, the conversations around her died down, and the laughter came to a stop. People were moving out of her way as they all stared respectively. Confused by the room's sudden mood shift, she looked around, then noticed Jughead following behind her. The pathway to the door cleared up, and Betty was soon joined by Veronica, who grabbed her arm and walked with her to the front door. A big man was guarding the door, then quickly opened it for them. She gave him a friendly nod as they walked outside, meeting the chilled air once again.

"Elizabeth," he called after her.

She paused, feeling her heart drop to her stomach at the name he used again. She turned around and saw him leaning his shoulder against the door frame with his thumbs in his jean pockets.

His mischievous eyes landed on hers. "I'll be seeing you." 

She felt an anxious feeling swarm inside her after she heard those words flooding out of his mouth. She was automatically attracted to the melody of his voice and found herself replaying his words over and over again inside her head. Everything else in her life seemed like a distant memory she had momentarily forgotten about. 'I'll be seeing you' was like a bomb that went off inside her head--her body feeling the effects of its aftershock, and everything suddenly felt different, and a few things didn't make sense to her.

She gave a slight nod and a soft look of acknowledgment before turning around. As she and Veronica headed towards the car, Betty gave a quick look back at him, curiosity getting the best of her.

But he was gone. However, the melody of his voice still replayed in the back of her mind like a broken record, and Betty realized she was wrong.

Nothing... _nothing_ made sense anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're the one who kidnapped me and threatened me, so you're no better!" She snapped, feeling smothered by his intense stare.

The silence in the car ride home was deafening. Betty stared through her passenger side window, gazing up at the dark sky as she listened to the humming of the turned down radio. Thoughts circulated her head, and the consistency of the black paved road driving away from her had her feeling a bit drowsy.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened? You look kind of shaken up." Veronica noticed as she peeked over at her friend, who looked lost in her own thoughts. Betty jolted her head up to look at her before she shook it, then slid her hands between her thighs to warm them. "I'm fine." 

Veronica shot her a few glances, patiently waiting for her to continue as she tried to make out the expression on her face. "Well... what happened? You haven't said anything about how it went." 

She breathed in as she anxiously rubbed her hands against the material between her thighs. "Um... nothing really." She shrugged. "We just talked." Her mind flashed back to him grabbing her and pulling her arms behind her back, restraining her so that she couldn't move. 

"Did he agree to leave Archie alone?" Veronica asked curiously. 

"Yeah," she said in a mumble.

"Really?" There was a rise in her voice as if she was surprised but excited at the same time. It pained her to lie to her friend's face. Though, she didn't want her to worry about it anymore. "Yeah. He said to forget about the money Archie owes him."

"That's good! I was worried for you. I thought he was going to slice your head off." She chuckled. "But um... I know this might be a little inappropriate to say, but damn..."

"What?"

Veronica simpered and let out a breathy laugh. "...Damn."

"What?" She said a little louder, hoping Veronica would spit out her words faster.

"He is... hot."

Betty forcefully swallowed at her response and coughed as it went down the wrong windpipe. 

"Like, hot hot. Like, I could probably bake cookies on him hot." Shocked at her words, Betty stayed silent for a moment, trying to comprehend what her friend had just said about the guy who left her handcuffed to a pole in a warehouse and threatened to kill her numerous times. "Seriously?" 

"Oh, yeah. Way hotter than Archie and any other guy at Riverdale High." Not paying attention, Veronica gasped before taking a sharp turn around the corner, and the action caused Betty to jerk to the right, knocking herself against the door. "Ow..." She groaned.

"Oops. Sorry." Veronica choked up on the steering wheel, and Betty rubbed her arm, trying to relieve the pain. 

"You don't think he is?" The dark-headed girl asked as they came to a stop at a red light.

"I mean... I haven't really thought about it. I didn't.. notice." She felt agitated by the question and tried not to think about it.

"How could you not notice? That boy is fine as hell. I was shocked when I first saw him. I thought he was a gang member's hot son or something." She smirked to herself as she kept her eyes on the road. "I bet he has a nice body too." Betty couldn't believe her ears. She tried her hardest to block out the crystal image of him in her mind, but Veronica was making it nearly impossible.

"Too bad he's a bad guy. I would climb that tree so fast." 

"Veronica!" She shouted.

"What?" 

"Stop talking about him. Just... go get laid or something." 

"Yeah..." She let out a large exhale. "I know. Don't remind me. I was gonna get laid after the dance, but of course, that didn't happen."

"You mean with Reggie?"

"Yeah, Reggie and I were gonna go back to his place after the dance, but he ended up driving me home and walking me up to my door like the stupid gentleman he is. Gross." 

Betty gave her a muddled look, raising her left brow. "Huh? You didn't like that?" 

"It was okay, I guess, but sometimes the whole gentlemanly thing gets old. Sometimes I want a guy who's... I don't know, dangerous. Someone who wants me right then and there and kisses me passionately." Veronica had a lot more experience with guys than her. She told Betty she lost her virginity in the eighth grade to a boy she barely knew, and the two of them were playing spin the bottle, then one thing led to another.

"But most guys at our school are pussies who don't know what a clitoris is." 

Betty snorted. "Oh, my god."

"Am I wrong?" 

She opened her mouth to say something, then started shaking her head. "I wouldn't know."

"Oh, right, I forgot you're a prude."

She gasped. "I am not a prude. Take that back."

"Betty Cooper, you are the biggest prude on the planet." She laughed and Betty rolled her eyes. "No, but you're right, though. I do need to get laid. I need to go to a party and let loose for one night." 

She nodded in agreement. It didn't surprise her that Veronica wanted to get drunk at a random party. She spent the entire summer getting wasted practically every night, leaving Betty at home most of the time because she hated going to parties.

"You do too."

"What? No, I don't," she fired back. "I'm perfectly content with staying in my bedroom." 

"Oh, my god," Veronica replied. "You're so stiff. You always do this!"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Stiff?"

"Yeah, stiff."

"What does that even mean?" 

"It means--" She raised her voice. "--you're in your own bubble a lot of the time. You're scared to get out of your comfort zone and live a little.'

Betty turned to her in protest. "I'm stiff because I hate going to parties?"

"No, you hate going to parties because you're stiff," she corrected her. 

"Oh, my god." Betty rolled her eyes and shook her head in annoyance. "You're ridiculous."

"Okay, but it's not just parties you're scared of. It took you years before you finally tried out for the cheer team."

"Well, I did it."

"Yeah, after I _forced_ you into the gym!" Veronica's words couldn't have been more true, and it made her mad. She sat in the seat with her arms crossed and let out a sigh. "I'm not stiff."

"Oh, _yeah_?" They turned on Betty's street, and Veronica stopped right in front of her house, putting the car in park. "Prove it to me then." She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to her. 

"What?" 

"Do something wild with me next weekend."

"Wild?"

"Mm-hm."

She was terrified of her proposition. Betty hated doing anything out of her comfort zone because it made her nervous. "Like.. what?"

"I don't know. Just... something that'll prove that you're a loosey-goosey and not a stiff."

She smiled at her word choice and huffed out a breath. "Veronica, stop."

"Not until you agree to go somewhere with me." 

"I'm not agreeing to anything until you figure out exactly what it is that you wanna do." 

"Fine. I'll use this week to come up with something," she retorted. Betty figured she would forget about it by the end of the week. Veronica was the type to say they were going to do something, then lose interest in the idea the next day. She sighed, prolonging her exhale. "Fine."

"Fine," she mimicked her response, then unlocked the car door for her. "You're a pain in my ass. Get out of my car, Cooper." She swayed her hand in the direction of the passenger side door, gesturing for her to leave.

Betty giggled, then proceeded to get out before she peeked her head back inside the car. "Hey." Veronica looked up at her. "Thanks for coming with me tonight, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes, and Betty smiled before shutting the car door. Veronica rolled the window as she put the car in drive. "Tell neighbor boy I said hi!" She yelled as she drove off.

She rolled her eyes as she shook her head at the fleeing car driving off into the distance. Neighbor boy hadn't really been on her mind since the encounter with Jughead earlier, and the sudden thought of him possibly watching her that very second had her curious. She looked up at his window and saw the darkness inside his room and frowned. 

_Maybe he's downstairs with his dad._

She thought and made her way up the front steps leading to her front door.

* * *

It was hard falling asleep that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, feeling every ounce of hair on her body move from the high powered ceiling fan. Every time she shut her eyes, she was haunted by the image of him staring coldly in her eyes. She shivered and pulled the blanket further up her body. She tried squeezing her eyes shut, forcing the pictures to leave her brain, but they stayed implanted in her. She sighed in frustration as she turned onto her back and stared up at the dark ceiling. The long night awaited ahead of her, and she knew this was just the start of it.

* * *

She dragged herself through the halls at school, feeling mentally exhausted, but physically aware of her surroundings. She didn't know when she was supposed to see him. He said he would find her, but she worried he wouldn't be able to. She managed to scrounge up $991 from the shoebox in her closet. The money was from birthdays, Christmas gifts, and babysitting jobs. She had been saving up for emergency purposes or until she got out on her own and wanted to have a few dollars saved up just in case. She never planned on spending it, but the situation she was put in, she felt like she didn't have a choice. The rest of the money she took from her mom's wallet, pant pockets, and even walked to the bank before school to deposit the rest out of her mom's bank account. She sat impatiently in class, waiting for the last bell to ring to dismiss the students from school. 

* * *

Cheer practice felt long and physically draining. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up to Betty as she stood there yawning on the field, watching Cheryl continuously correct another girl's dance movements. "Okay, people! From the top!" Cheryl yelled as she got in her position. They went through the movements again, and she felt proud of herself for being able to keep up. "Woo! That was good! Let's try it with music this time." Cheryl hit play on the boom box that was sitting on the turf and stood there watching the cheerleaders as they started dancing. It was a challenge performing one of the dance moves that had them kicking their leg up in the air and swinging it from right to left. She wasn't as flexible as the other girls, so her leg didn't go up as high.

After the song ended, Cheryl dismissed the cheerleaders except for Betty, who she stopped from walking off the field. "No offense, Betty, but you lack in the flexibility department. Consider stretching on your own time to try to loosen those hamstrings."

"Sorry. I know," she replied.

Cheryl looked her up and down for a second before she set her phone down on the bleachers. "Here." She reached her arms out to her. "Try this technique."

Betty gave her a puzzled look. "What?" 

"Give me your leg," she said impatiently, and Betty gave her a look of uncertainty.

She slowly raised her foot off the ground, and Cheryl grabbed it with two hands, then extended her leg out in front of her. "Okay, now..." She placed her calf on her shoulder, and Betty had a hard time keeping her balance. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stretching you," she said before she started massaging the hamstring under her thigh and slowly started walking towards Betty, hoisting her leg up higher.

Betty winced at the pain. "Ah." 

As Cheryl got closer to her, she grabbed Betty's leg with her hands again and continued to walk closer to her. 

"Cheryl, I'm not --" She hopped on her left foot, trying to keep herself from tumbling over. "I'm not that flexible. My leg doesn't go that high."

"You'd be surprised," she smiled as she rubbed at her hamstring again, and Betty's leg was already extended at a 180-degree angle. 

"Cheryl, Cheryl- ah..." Her voice quivered from the pain. "That hurts! Cheryl!" Before she knew it, the red-headed cheer captain had her leg straightened above her head. Cheryl was right, she was surprised at how high her leg was extended, and the sharp pain under her thigh lessened the longer she kept her leg up."

"See..." She smiled. "Not so bad."

"Yeah..." Betty bit down on her bottom lip. "Mmm..." She moaned. "For you." 

Cheryl smirked, then slowly started putting her leg back down. "Ah..." Betty bit her lip harder, trying to redirect her attention away from the gruesome pain in her hamstrings. "Fuck."

Cheryl chuckled as she let go of her leg. "Did I just hear Betty Cooper cuss?"

"No," she denied and slowly started bending her leg back, then shook it out. "My leg actually does feel looser." She planted her foot back on the turf and started walking around. "Yeah, it feels good. Thanks." She smiled as she stopped walking and turned back to her. 

"Mm-hm. Now, do that five times a day, and you'll be ready for the football game this Friday," Cheryl said enthusiastically with a big smile painted across her face before she turned to walk away.

"W-w-wait, what?" She stuttered, displeased with the words that fumbled out of her mouth. She sighed, then walked over to the bleachers to grab the only cheer bag that was left sitting on the turf. The breezy air was starting to pick up, and Betty tightened her ponytail to make sure it wasn't in danger of coming undone. She draped the bag strap over her shoulder and turned back to the empty football field. There wasn't a sound near, but a slight whistle of the wind and she crossed her arms over her chest to keep herself warm. All the cheerleaders had already gone inside the locker room, leaving Betty by herself. It was already dark outside, and he hadn't found her yet. She sat down on the bleachers, setting her bag down and reached inside it to pull out her phone. Since it was already later, she figured he forgot about their arrangement, or he got busy last minute. Either way, she figured it was time to let her mom know she was done and to pick her up soon. 

_**Betty: Mom, practice is over. Can u come pick me up?** _

She waited five minutes for a response. The nip in the air was getting worse -- her hands rubbing along the goosebumps on her bare arms as she sat there until she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, placed her phone back in the bag, and contemplated whether or not she should join the other girls in the locker room where it's warm. The locker room was quite a long walk, and Betty didn't feel like changing out of her uniform. She decided to go wait in the parking lot where it would be potentially warmer due to the cars blocking the breeze. She folded her arms at her chest, hands folded over each of her arms, and she tried to focus on the ground as her feet headed their way towards the parking lot. Her teeth chattered -- air sucking in through the small hole of her mouth, and it instantly dried her lips. There was a faint whine in the distance that sounded like a cat meowing, and she stopped walking to turn her head in the direction of the noise. Her eyes roamed the arena, but the whereabouts of the thing that sounded the noise was nowhere in sight.

She turned back, then was immediately startled by a person standing a few yards in front of her. 

"Jesus!" She grabbed her chest after she felt her heart explode inside of it. He was leaned against a vehicle with his arms crossed at his chest while looking right at her. He had a smug smile, and his eyes aligned perfectly with the pale moonlight gleaming on his face. Her body suddenly warmed from the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and she stood there, taking every bit of him in. "I have your money," she said, chest still heaving from the aftershock of him startling her. "It's in my bag." 

He uncrossed his arms and detached himself from the car before walking around it to the front of it and patted the hood twice. She stood there, eyes moving from the hood of the car and back to him, unsure of what to do. "Bring it over here," he said firmly.

She nodded at his demand and slowly started walking over to him. "Whose car is this?" She was looking at a black Range Rover -- a $90,000 one at best, and it seemed far too nice to belong to any of the cheerleaders or teachers.

"Doesn't matter." He reached over to her, grabbing the bag strap. "You said the money was in here?" He removed it from her shoulder, and she nodded. 

He placed the cheer bag on the hood of the car and unzipped the bag. He looked inside it, then reached in it, pulling out a pair of white underwear. The cotton panties dangled from his index finger, and Betty gasped at the horrifying sight in front of her. "Oh, my god." She immediately reached over and yanked the pair from him, then bunched them up in the palm of her hand.

He shot her a look of amusement before looking down at her cheer skirt, then looked back up at her flaming red face. She crossed her arms, hiding the panties underneath her arm and tried to avoid eye contact with him. He went back to digging through her bag and started pulling out the numerous bills she had stuffed inside it. He counted every bill he took out and gave her a bewildered expression when he pulled out the few crumpled dollar bills. "Did you pull this money from your piggy bank or something?"

She pulled her lips back between her teeth and nodded. "Pretty much, yeah... most of it is from birthdays and other holidays." He straightened the dollar bills and held the stack of money in his hand. "But it's all there. All $1500 of it," she added.

He stared at the money for a moment with a blank expression on his face, and the uncertainty of what ran through his mind at that moment made her apprehensive. She was vaguely aware of her palms sweating underneath her arms despite the weather being cool, and for some reason, her heart dropped at the sight of him turning towards her. 

"Can I ask why?" He leaned his left side against the hood and stuffed the money in his leather jacket pocket. She swallowed, trying to salivate her dry mouth. Betty was vaguely aware of her holding her breath and realized she hadn't been breathing for a few seconds. "Why what...?" She held her breath again for a few more seconds, appreciating the way it accented her heart beating inside her chest. 

"You don't claim the guy as your boyfriend." He moved away from the hood of the car and slowly started walking towards her. "You hate when I refer to him as that, yet there you were on a Friday night... at a snake pit, drawing attention to yourself and trying to negotiate with the leader of the Southside." He got closer and closer to her, causing her to disconnect her feet from the ground and circled him until she was walking backwards towards the car. He followed until she was pressed against the side door, handle digging into her back, and she let out a soft whine in response. He was just a foot in front of her; then he brought his left hand up to brace himself against the car. "And here you are on a Monday night, short skirt, chilly night..." His eyes roaming up and down her body made her swallow harder than she meant to. "...walking around with $1500 in your bag, willing to exchange it for his freedom."

"Why try to save his ass, huh?" He brought his hand up, acting like he was going to touch her face, but instead, pinched a few loose strands of hair that escaped her ponytail. He then gently tucked them behind her ear, leaving an electrifying touch that made her shiver and sent goosebumps to her legs and arms. "Why put yourself through that?" His voice was surprisingly soft, and his eyes weren't as dark as she remembered them to be -- the speckle of blue-green popped out under the fair light from the light posts in the parking lot and she wanted to memorize every aspect of them.

She swallowed from the intensity of his stare and worried her voice would quiver from the dryness stuck in her throat and the overwhelming chillness coming from his closeness. "He's... my best friend," She said unconfidently, and her breath started to quicken from the awkward silence between them. "And he's going through a lot right now. I love and care about him."

"Bullshit," he spat out. "Don't pull that best friend card on me." She sucked in a breath, and he sighed when he caught the bewildered look on her face. "You're either in love with the guy, and you just don't wanna admit it or... or..." His voice softened. "You feel guilty for something, and you think doing this for him will take that guilt right out of you." 

Her face relaxing, and her rosy cheeks turning pale gave it away, and he smirked. "Which one did I get right?" She didn't answer. Instead, she forced herself to break eye contact with him, moving her eyes down to the black shirt underneath his leather jacket. 

"Guess we'll see." He smiled.

Betty started to focus on the way his shirt fit his chest so snug, and then it raced through her mind -- the image of him without it. She swallowed as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the picture out of her brain. She looked back up at him, and for some unknown reason, her blood started to boil. "Why can't I do something out of the kindness of my heart? Not everyone is heartless like you, you know," she snapped, then felt her breathing hitch when she realized what she had just blindly said. 

Luckily, his face didn't budge, but his eyebrows raised an inch.

"I don't have to have a reason to show someone I care about them," she continued, lowering her voice.

"Why care for someone who doesn't care about you?"

She gave him an insulted look, feeling like he had just plunged a knife right through her heart. "He does care about me."

"No." He shook his head. "He doesn't." 

She was starting to get angry at his words. She took a step forward, detaching herself from the car. "Yes... he does."

He took a step back and pressed his hand against her stomach to stop her from getting any closer. "Elizabeth..." She looked down at his hand, then looked back up at his face before taking a step back, repositioning herself against the car. 

"I've dealt with all kinds of men my entire life. I've learned to decide what kind of man they are just by a few interactions with them." She instantly felt the tips of his index and middle finger against the side of her head, and she froze from the unrecognizable act. "If I had a gun up to your head and I told him to give his life up for yours, or I'm pulling the trigger... he would stay silent." She realized he was making the finger gun sign with his hand, and the image of him holding a real gun up to her head made her heart flutter.

"You don't know that." She sucked in a sharp breath.

"Elizabeth!" He barked, then slammed his hand against the space on the car right next to her head. The loud action caused her to jump at the alarming sound. "He's the reason why I had to drag you into this mess. He made me have to resort to putting your life in the middle of it. I warned him numerous times that I would come for you."

Her heart still thumped from the aggressive slam against the car, and he put his right hand on the other side of her, trapping her in between his arms. "What kind of man lets a lady get treated like that, huh?" He looked angry, and she was afraid of his intentions. 

"You're the one who kidnapped me and threatened me, so you're no better!" She snapped, feeling smothered by his intense stare.

He scoffed. "I was just doing my job, Elizabeth." He removed his right hand from the car, putting all his weight on his left and leaned his face in closer until they were exchanging each other's breath. He hovered his mouth over hers, and her body warmed from the hot breath pressing against her lips. Her heart sank from his sudden closeness, and she felt like she was going to explode from the fire aching inside her. "You don't know what I would do if I were in his place," he mumbled an inch away from her mouth, and she inhaled every word of it. 

Curiosity overwhelming her as her breathing sped up from the squirming pulse in her belly and the sudden pressure against her chest when she pictured him for a slight second. "What would you do?"

He moved his face back a slight inch, looking down at her pale pink lips before looking back up into her hooded eyes.

Her heaving chest brushed against his shirt as he moved his face past her cheek. She felt the hot breath connect to her ear. "What I wouldn't do... I wouldn't let another man lay a hand on you." Each puff of air after every word tickled her ear and sent chills down her spine. He slowly pulled back -- his slightly parted lips looked captivating, and every bolt of electricity in her body fired up. She craved more of it, but the connection finally broke when they were interrupted by a set of headlights pulling into the parking lot. 

He pushed off the car, and she took a deep breath from the loss of contact. Betty stood there frozen, feeling a bit abandoned. He backed away from her before walking back to the hood of the car. She felt like she couldn't move a muscle, so she gazed at the ground before she saw the cheer bag drop in front of her. She looked up, shooting him an irritated look before she reached down to retrieve it. There were footsteps on the other side of the car, and she was startled by an engine roaring. She shot back up, turned to the noise, and eyed him sitting in the driver's seat of the Range Rover. His eyes met with hers one last time before he put the car in drive and sped out of the parking lot, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Her agape mouth had her jaw hanging loosely as she watched him drive off. 

"Betty!" She heard someone calling from behind. Her attention turned to a brown station wagon sitting in the parking lot with the headlights shining on her. She saw a woman stick her head out of the window and yelled her name again. "Betty! Get in this car right now!" 

_Mom._


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And just like that, her innocence was beginning to fade.

"Who was that?" Alice asked as Betty shut the car door behind her. She tossed her cheer bag into the backseat and looked up, distracted by a few cheerleaders walking to their cars. "Nobody," she said quietly. 

"Elizabeth, do not lie to me. That wasn't a nobody, that was a somebody. Who was it?" She put her seatbelt on and straightened herself in the seat. "Just a friend," she lied, hoping her mom hadn't seen too much of their interaction.

"A friend? I pray to God that wasn't a friend. I saw the Serpent logo on the back of his jacket."

Her heart sank at her mom's words. She needed to shift her story but panicked as her brain clouded with fog. "Okay," she exclaimed, still trying to think of another excuse. "He was just trying to scare me off... I accidentally got in his way, and it angered him. It wasn't a big deal."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No."

Alice sighed with relief. "Good." There was a moment of silence, and Betty froze as she recollected the moment when he had her white panties dangling from his finger, and the thought made her face flush once again. "What the hell was he even doing there? I never see those hoodlums on this side of town."

"I don't know," she said while looking down at her hands and noticed them shaking.

"I want you to stay far away from them. If you ever see one again, you call me, or you call the police. Do you understand?" 

Betty nodded as she looked up at her mom and saw the genuine concern on her face. She wanted to ease her mom's worry, even if that meant lying to her face. 

"I swear to god, those guys are always up to no good," Alice added as she put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space. A part of her was curious about her mom's encounters with the Serpents, and by the distressed look on her face, it was apparent her mom knew about their dangerous manners.

* * *

"Betty? What are you doing here?" Archie was standing at the door, wearing a pair of blue athletic shorts and a plain white t-shirt. His hair was a mess, and he looked like he had just rolled out of bed. She couldn't go the rest of the night without talking to him, so after they returned home, Betty made her way over to his front door.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

Archie looked her up and down before glancing at the wall clock. "Uh, sure." He stepped to the side, letting her walk in.

"What's up?" He asked while shutting the door behind her.

Betty looked around, noting the missing presence of both his parents. "Can we talk in your room or something?"

* * *

They were both in his room, and Betty made her way over to Archie's bed as he shut the door behind them. She sat at the edge of the bed with her feet planted on his cold wooden floor. He made his way over and took a seat right next to her.

She rubbed her bare thighs, trying to calm her anxiety, but the silence in the room and the sound of him breathing seemed to enhance it. "I, um..." She swallowed the words down her throat and focused her attention on the Led Zeppelin poster hanging on his wall. "You don't have to worry about that gang leader messing with you anymore," she spat out.

"What do you mean?"

She finally managed to look at him -- his eyes puzzled, and his head cocked to the side. "I took care of it."

"What?" His eyebrows raised in surprise. "How...?"

"I paid him the money, Archie." She looked down at her hand stationed on the bed and noticed it was scarcely touching his. "I paid him every cent."

"I didn't ask you to do that," he retorted.

"I know, but I didn't want you to worry about it anymore." She placed her hand over his. "Betty..." She heard him swallow, and he turned his hand over on the bed to face hers and interlocked their fingers.

"It's fine. You can pay me back whenever you can. Okay? As long as you need," she said in a reassuring tone.

"Wow..." He looked down at their hands. "That's, um... I don't know what to say." 

"A thank you would suffice." She smiled.

"Thank you... Thank you so much." He leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. She was a bit stunned at first, but slowly returned the hug and smiled into his shoulder. After a few seconds, they both pulled back at the same time.

She looked at his face longingly; then, her smile slowly started to fade. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Anything."

"Do you care about me... Archie?" Her voice quivered, and she felt a lump start to build in her throat.

"Of course I care about you. Why wouldn't I?" She couldn't withhold the tear that escaped and rolled down her cheek. "Hey..." He positioned himself on the bed to face her and brought his right hand up to cup her cheek, then gently swiped the tear away. "I care about you a lot." 

She sniffled, then broke out into a smile. "I love you... Betty," he whispered softly, and her expression changed -- like those words at just smacked her right in the face.

She looked at him delicately, and fear conquered her eyes as she swallowed to relieve the lump still lodged in her throat. Not knowing what to say or how to react, she let the thoughts escape her mind and found herself leaning in. She brushed her lips against his, and he greeted her gesture by adding more pressure, pressing his lips against hers.

They kissed, and his cold saliva and lips made her feel a bit queasy inside. He let his body fall against the bed, and she followed beside. They were both lying side by side as he worked his lips over hers. The sickness in her stomach grew inside her chest as she felt his hand delicately trace the skin on her thigh. Her heart racing resulted in her opening her eyes and quickly pulled away from him. She gulped the extra saliva lingering in her mouth, and unwantedly found her hands grip the bottom hem of his shirt. He acknowledged her hands tugging at his shirt and pulled it off. 

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, and she stayed silent longer than she meant to before reaching behind her back to unzip her top and nodded. "Uh-huh." Her breathing became more frequent, and her vision grew blurry. She unzipped her top, and he pulled it off of her, leaving her in her pink athletic bra and cheer skirt. His lustful eyes scanned over her body for a second before hungrily crashing his lips against hers again. The act trapped the air between their lips, causing her to feel suffocated. He ran his hand along the side of her thigh again, and as it inched closer and closer to her skirt, she tried to gasp for air that had been lost. She pulled back abruptly and gave him a daunting look. 

"What is it? Are you okay?" He had a worrisome look on his face, which made her feel even more ill from guilt eating away at her. 

"I'm sorry. I don't --" She tried to spit out her words, but they had become absent in her breath.

"Do you wanna stop?" 

Her silence gave it away. "We can stop if you want, Betty. It's completely up to you."

She sat up on his bed and rested her back against the wall. "I just... I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing is wrong with you. Hey..." He brought his hand up to her chin and tilted her face to look at him. "We can go slow. We don't have to do anything tonight." There was sincerity in his eyes, which caused her face to soften. She nodded and reached for her shirt. "I'm sorry."

"For what? There's nothing to be sorry for." He smiled, trying to calm her anxiety. She zipped up her shirt and scooted to the edge of the bed. "I should probably get home. I'm supposed to be grounded, and my mom doesn't know I left."

"Okay, I'll walk you out," he replied before grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head. She watched him in awe, thinking about his gentlemanly-like behavior and tried to admire the last second glimpse of his body before he covered it with his shirt. 

"Let's go." He got up and walked over to his door to open it before they both headed downstairs.

* * *

"So... I'll see you tomorrow at school?" He asked as he clung to the door, holding it open while she stood under the door frame.

"Yeah." She smiled and nodded before turning to walk out. He reached for her arm, grabbing it gently, and she turned back to face him. "Hey," he said before leaning in and planting a kiss on her lips. The action took her by surprise, and he disconnected their lips before she had a chance to kiss him back. She smiled softly, soaking in his hazy stare as he slowly pulled back.

"Goodnight," she said and stepped out onto the porch before he shut the door behind her. She stood there for a few seconds, taking in the subtle breeze as her mind drifted to the two of them in bed. She wondered what their first time would've been like if she hadn't freaked out. She felt like a fool, but the way her body reacted to his touch, it weakened her core. 

_Maybe it was just nerves._

She sighed as she walked off his front porch and headed her way home.

* * *

The next day at school, Veronica walked into the girl's bathroom. There were two girls standing side by side in front of the mirror. She took the spot right next to them and pulled her lipstick out of her purse, then applied a fresh layer over her lips. 

"There's a party there this weekend. I'm sure my boyfriend can get us in," the light brunette next to her spoke as she washed her hands in the sink. 

"Where is it?" Her dark-haired friend asked.

"I don't know. Last time they held one of those parties at an abandoned house. It was pretty fun. People are allowed to do whatever they want there." She dried her hands off and threw the paper towel in the trash.

"Aren't those parties like... dangerous or something."

"I mean, they can be, but as long as you mind your own business and don't mess with any gang members, everyone will pretty much leave you alone." 

Veronica couldn't help but overhear their conversation as she continued to apply her lipstick and fix any blotchy spots on her face.

"Hm."

"My boyfriend will protect us if anything goes wrong, though," the brunette continued as she pulled out some lip gloss and handed it to her friend.

"What should I wear?"

"Um... You probably should wear that black leather jacket I bought you a few weekends ago. That'll help you fit in."

The darker-haired girl smeared the pink gloss over her lips, then rubbed them together. "Okay, awesome." She handed it back to her and removed some excess gloss from the corner of her mouth. "What are those parties even for?"

"Not sure. My boyfriend said they throw them for a reason, but can't tell me specifics."

"That's kind of weird."

"Whatever. They're fun."

"Excuse me?" Veronica interrupted as she placed her lipstick back in her purse and turned to them.

The two girls looked over at her. "Hi..." she continued. "Sorry, I was sort of eavesdropping. I just wanted to ask... What party are you guys talking about?"

"A party on the Southside," the brunette replied.

"Oh, interesting. Could you tell me a little more about it?" She asked with a curious expression on her face. The girls exchanged a look before the brunette replied. "It's a closed party. No Northsiders allowed unless you're buying their supply or you're somebody's plus one."

"Buying their supply...?" 

"Drugs."

"Oh..." Veronica nodded in acknowledgment. "So... If my friend and I wanted to go..."

The girl sighed, clearly bothered by all her questions. "They might let you in because you're girls, but..." She scanned her up and down. "You would need to make it look like you're not from the Northside."

"Okay... How would I do that?"

"Well, for starters, I'd get rid of the white pearls, and I wouldn't bring a purse. You might wanna look like you belong in the trailer park and not in some big fancy mansion." She smiled, and her dark-haired friend giggled.

"Okay..."

"I'm not exactly sure where the party is going to be, but if you wanna give me your number, I'll text you the address when I find out," she added as she pulled out her phone and handed it to Veronica.

"Oh, my god. That would be great." She took the phone from her and inserted her number before handing it back to her. "Thank you."

"No problem." She put her phone in her back pocket. "But... just out of curiosity, why would you even wanna go to a party like that?" Her eyes raked over her body once more. "You don't seem like the type to show up at one of those parties."

"Oh... well... It's kind of a long story. I just promised my friend we would do something wild together."

"Oh, this is definitely something wild." She snickered. "Just... don't have too much fun... If you know what I mean." She raised her left brow at her then started to walk off with her friend following behind.

Veronica smiled to herself as she waited for them to exit the bathroom. 

"Oh, Betty's gonna love this," she said quietly to herself and walked out of the bathroom.

* * *

"A party?" Betty's eyes were widened in surprise as she put her English book away in her locker and pulled out her math book. "Nuh-uh... No way," she said firmly and shut her locker.

"B, you promised me!" Veronica had a pouty look on her face, which caused her to roll her eyes. "No. I'm not going to a party. I told you I wouldn't agree to anything until you figured it out and now that you have it figured out, I say hell fucking no." She walked away and Veronica chased after her. 

"Listen to me."

"No."

They were headed in the direction of Betty's math class and she tried to move her feet faster, but suddenly, Veronica snatched her math book out of her hands. "Veronica!" They stopped in the middle of the hallway and she reached for her textbook, but Veronica pulled back.

"Hear me out."

Betty sighed in frustration and tried to reach for her book again, but failed to grab it.

"I'll give it back to you once you listen to me."

People were eager to get to class, having to walk around the two girls standing stubbornly in the middle of the hallway. "We're gonna be late."

"I don't care. I promised you a wild weekend and that's what you're going to get."

Betty rolled her eyes and waited a moment before trying to snatch her book out of her hands again, but Veronica was quick to react and grabbed her arm. "Stop. Listen to me. If the party sucks, then we'll leave right away. I just wanna check it out."

"Why? It's just a dumb party. What's so special about it? You go to them all the time."

"Yeah... but this one is on the Southside." Veronica smirked at her. Betty's body tensed up and her face grew pale. "The Southside?"

She nodded while giving her a mischievous smile. 

"No. Absolutely not." Betty sucked in a breath and turned to walk away from her.

"Why not?" Veronica followed behind. "It's just a party. Not like I'm forcing you to take any drugs or drink alcoholic beverages."

Betty stopped abruptly and turned to face her. "No, but you're putting my life in danger." Veronica crinkled her eyebrows and gave her a baffled look. "What the hell are you talking about? Your life isn't in any danger. The girl who told me about it said they're fun. I think they're thrown every so often."

She breathed in deeply and started shaking her head in protest.

"B... If I thought your life was in any danger, I wouldn't have suggested it. What's the big deal? Why are you so afraid?"

Betty looked around, noticing the halls were starting to clear up as everyone headed to their next class. "I'm not afraid." She folded her arms at her chest and looked down at her navy blue converse. 

"Then go with me." She held her math textbook out. "I know there's a part of you that wants to feel your adrenaline pumping once in a while, too."

She sighed, knowing Veronica would keep bugging her if she didn't give in. Besides, there was also an ounce of curiosity lingering inside her.

"Fine..." She took a deep breath as she took the book from her. "I'll go."

And just like that, her innocence was beginning to fade. Something about those words made her feel powerless and no longer in control over her own mind -- the same mind telling her to walk away. Every source of purity and morality floating inside her was being overshadowed by the rush she felt when she imagined herself being in the center of uncertainty. 

"Really?" Veronica was surprised by her sudden change in mind.

They were interrupted by the alarming sound of the bell. "Come find me after school," Betty said before turning to head in the direction of her next period class.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The last time I bought from you, Rafael, you put a bullet in one of my guys' heads. What makes you think I'm gonna make that mistake again?"
> 
> Sorry, this chapter took so long. I've been going through some shit, but I made this chapter a little longer than the other ones to make up for it. I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as I can! Thanks for being patient with me!:)

After school, Betty didn't feel well, so she decided to skip practice and walk straight home.

"Mom, I'm home!" Betty called from the front foyer as she shut the door behind her. 

"There has to be some mistake. I didn't withdraw any money." 

Betty overheard her mom talking from the kitchen. She put her bag down on the floor next to the front door before she slowly walked over to the older woman's voice. "No, I didn't. Someone must've gotten into my account or something because I didn't deposit any money." Her mom looked frustrated and tired. Betty panicked when she realized Alice was on the phone with the bank. She knew she had to come clean about taking money out of her account.

The blonde took a deep breath as she stared at the woman in front of her. "Mom?"

Her mom looked up. "What?" She asked her as the woman on the other line continued to ramble on. 

Betty took a deep breath as she worked up the courage to look her in the eye. ”It was me,” she confessed. "I did it."

Alice gave her a bewildered look. “Hold on one second,” she said to the person on the phone and brought it away from her ear.

"I took the money from your account,” Betty added as she anxiously rubbed her fingers together.

Her mom gaped at her for a few seconds before she guided the phone up to her ear again. ”Um... Let me call you back."

“I’m sorry,” she added before Alice had the chance to say anything. Her mom set her phone on the kitchen counter with her mouth slightly agape in shock. “Why would you take money?"

Betty started digging her middle fingernail into the sore skin surrounding her thumbnail. Her breath quivered when she opened her mouth to speak. ”I needed it... for something."

Alice looked at her with fury settling in her body. ”For what, Elizabeth? What could you possibly need all that money for?"

Betty tried to remain in a calm state, but she knew her body language radiated with tensity. “For school." She bit her top lip in an immediate reaction to her lame answer.

Her mom smiled in amusement, aware of the ridiculousness of her daughter’s response. “You needed over $400 for school?"

"I..." She swallowed.

"Don't lie to me,” her mom said firmly.

The teen blonde scratched the side of her head, waiting for the perfect cover story to pop inside her head. She grew even more anxious, scrambling to think of occurrences that would cost just as much. Every memory was fuzzy and every second that went by, her heart sped up. ”Okay..." She spat out as she prolonged her sigh. “Here's the thing…” She swallowed, trying to moisten her dry throat. “I was driving Veronica's car… and I accidentally… scraped the side of her car against a mailbox. It was a few hundred dollars to repaint and repair the damage and I was worried you would get mad."

"So you took money out of my account?"

"I know it was wrong. I'm sorry."

She scoffed, looking more disappointed than ever. "Unbelievable."

"I promise I'll pay you back."

"Pay me back?” Her voice got louder. “With what money? You don't have a job."

"I'll get one,” Betty said quickly.

"Oh, really? How are you going to manage a job on top of school, cheerleading, and the other extracurricular activities I told you to sign up for?"

She looked down at the ground. “I’ll figure it out... I'll babysit for a few weekends."

"You'll babysit?" Her mom’s eyebrows raised.

"Yes,” she replied and watched her mom sigh with discontentment. ”I’m so sorry."

"I'm not mad you scratched her car, Betty, I’m disappointed you didn't tell me about it and proceeded to steal money out of my bank account like some scoundrel."

"I know, I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again.”

"You're damn right it won't ever happen again. You are grounded for several months. Do you understand me?" Alice said strictly while waving her index finger at her.

"Yes.”

She loosened her stance and groaned in frustration. ”God, what has gotten into you lately? You are out of control. I might send you off to your dad's for a few weeks."

Betty widened her eyes, ready to shut down her mom’s proposal. “No!” She exclaimed. "I mean, I can control myself. I promise." 

She loved her dad with everything in her, but she knew he wouldn't want to be held responsible for her for that length of time. 

"Probably for the best anyway," Alice retorted. "Speaking of your father, though, I did invite him to come watch you cheer this Friday at the game."

Her face lit up. "What? Really?"

Her mom nodded, "mhm" while grabbing a glass out of the cabinet. "He promised he'd be there." 

Betty smiled as the thought of seeing her dad warmed her belly. "Should I call him?" 

"Sure. Why not?" Alice filled her glass up with water and took a sip. "I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you."

Betty's painted smile stayed as she reached inside her pocket and grabbed her phone. She dialed his number and brought the phone up to her ear.

As it rang, she paced back and forth in the kitchen, feeling anxious by the constant ringing. A few more rings went by before it went to his voicemail and Betty's smile faded when she heard the sound of his automated voice. She ended the call and looked up at her mom. "He didn't answer," she said heart-rendingly, and Alice gave her daughter an empathetic look. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. Maybe he's busy."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's fine. I'll just see him on Friday," she said, putting her smile back on and placed her phone in her back pocket. She walked out of the kitchen, headed for the staircase.

"Remember, you're grounded!" Alice called after her. "No going to Pop's or hanging out with Veronica after the game on Friday!"

Betty rolled her eyes as she walked up the steps, momentarily forgetting about the party Veronica was forcing her to go to. She grumbled to herself, feeling exasperated for accepting her friend's request. She had never snuck out of the house to go to a party before. This would be the first time. She hated lying to her mom about her social life, but that was only because she never really had one before now. It was a peculiar time. Betty never truly knew what it felt like to be a normal teenager. Once in a while, she needed to come out of her shell. Thankfully, She would be 18 soon, so her mother won’t be able to smother her for much longer.

She sighed to herself as she tried to push that devil-like voice out of her head. She walked up to her room and sat on the bed. She had homework to do, but couldn’t find the strength to get up to do it. She stayed still on the bed, feeling the daily self-hatred wash over her like a wave. The insecurities tip-toed in her mind, making her wonder how they ended up there so suddenly.

She fought her weakened body, finally standing up off the bed and walked to her bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and gripped the porcelain sink, looking up at herself for a moment.

She breathed in deeply as she tried not to focus on the parts of herself that made her teeth clench. Her eyes roamed up and down her body, taking in every part of her. She dropped one of her hands from the sink and kept it squeezed shut at her side. There was a second where all she could feel was the sharp pain coming from her palm, which caused the rest of her body to go numb. Her breath quivered in and out of her nose as she dug her nails further into the palm of her hand.

The pain was swaying her away from crying. It forced her to swallow the lump back down her throat as she focused on the skin slowly breaking underneath her nails.

Finally, she relaxed her hand and looked down at the blood oozing out of her reddened flesh and noticed the area around the moon-shaped wounds was a light purple shade. She quickly turned on the faucet and stuck her hand underneath it, letting the cool water wash away the blood. She sniffled the burning sensation out of her nose, holding back the tears from escaping her eyes. She was closer to crying than she was before.

Her hands were now shaking, and it wasn’t until a minute later when Betty realized she hadn’t eaten much today. She turned off the faucet and carefully dried her hands with the towel hanging on the rack right beside her. She was tired more than anything. She had a long day and needed a quick nap. 

Betty turned off the light in the bathroom and walked over to her bed. She sprawled out on it and instantly shut her eyes. Her body sunk down in the mattress, feeling a weight push on her eyes as she jetted off to sleep.

* * *

She awoke to the sound of her mother’s shrill voice next to her bed. Betty blinked through the light shining in her room, eyeing the outline of the shape standing over her bed.

“Elizabeth Cooper, get your butt out of bed right now!” Alice yelled as she spanked the side of Betty’s calf. “Up! Come on! Get up!”

Betty stretched out on the bed, then rolled over on her stomach to check the time on her alarm clock. The clock read 7:52 am and before she had time to react, Alice nudged her hip bone. “Why are you still in your clothes from yesterday?!”

She looked up at her with widened eyes and a puzzled look on her face. She didn’t plan on sleeping through the night. All she needed was a quick nap but forgot to set an alarm. She sat up on the bed and rubbed her tired eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t set an alarm,” she said with a sleepy voice and got up out of bed. 

Her mom stood there sternly with her fists on her hips as she watched her daughter walk to her vanity. Betty peeked at herself in the mirror, noticing the nest of hair on her head and the smudged makeup on her face. She grabbed a makeup wipe and rubbed off the patches of mascara from under her eyes.

“Breakfast is on the table,” Alice said as she walked to her door. “You have ten minutes to get ready.” She shut the door behind her after she walked out and Betty rolled her eyes before continuing to remove the mess on her face.

* * *

After she got ready, Betty headed downstairs, following the fresh smell of bacon and eggs in the kitchen. She needed to eat something, but she wanted to have enough time to walk Archie to school because she hadn’t talked to him in a couple of days. She heard her mom getting the plates out from the cabinet and decided to slip out the door quietly.

She felt the sun rays on her head and the calm coolness in the air. It had been a while since the weather was nice, unintentionally creating a lift in her mood. She made her way over to Archie’s door and before she could knock on it, she was startled by her phone vibrating in her pocket.

She enthusiastically reached inside it, hoping it was her dad calling her back. She looked down at the caller ID and frowned when she saw Veronica’s name on the screen.She sighed before sliding her finger across it and brought the phone up to her ear.

“Hello?” She answered disappointedly.

“Well, good morning to you too,” Veronica tittered.

Betty shook her head while smiling, denying that it was a good morning. “What’s up?”

“Can I come pick you up and we can go grab breakfast at Pop’s or something?" Veronica’s voice sounded urgent. "I need to talk to you.”

“Um, sure,” she replied. “Won’t we be late for school, though?”

“We’re not gonna eat there. We can just pick something up to-go. I’ll be there in 5.” Betty opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by her friend hanging up on her. She rolled her eyes and deeply sighed, feeling frustrated at how scrambled her morning had been.

* * *

A few minutes passed and Betty was sitting on Archie’s steps when she saw Veronica turn onto the street. She stood up and met her at the curb, opened the passenger side door, and sluggishly climbed in.

“Don’t look so excited to be going to school with me,” Veronica said sarcastically and smiled. “What’s wrong?”

Betty shut the door once she was all the way in and exhaled out. “Nothing. Just tired.”

“Maybe eating will perk your mood up.”

Betty managed a slight smile and nodded. She bit the inside of her cheek as she stared out the window.

“Okay, so…” Veronica sped off, causing Betty to immediately grab the door handle. “That girl that told me about the party texted me the info this morning. The party is at an abandoned house like an hour away from here,” she said while turning the corner. "After the game on Friday, I’m gonna take you back to my place and we can get ready there, so make sure you bring the outfit you’re gonna wear to school.” Veronica stopped at a stoplight and turned to her. “Okay?”

Betty was staring off into the distance, looking like she hadn't heard a word Veronica said to her. “My mom grounded me, V.”

“What?” The raven-haired girl looked at her with surprise. “You’re always grounded.”

“I know, so I don’t know what we’re going to do. I can’t go home with you.”

The light turned green and Veronica let her foot off the brake and started driving again.

“Hmmm…” She thought aloud before turning into the parking lot at Pop’s. “Okay, then go home with your mom, then sneak out your window. Say you’re going to bed early,” she suggested and parked the car in a parking spot.

“I can try, but my dad’s coming to the game, so we might go out to eat after.”

Veronica sat in silence, raising her eyebrows at her response. “Your dad’s coming to the game?”

“Yeah, he told my mom he would.” Betty gave her a soft smile and unbuckled her seatbelt. 

“Oh… alright..." She said slowly. "Then, text me whenever you guys are done, I guess.”

The blonde nodded as she opened the car door, eager to get out. “Okay.”

"Hold it!" Veronica quickly reached across the console and grabbed her shirt to stop her. “You promise you won’t make up some bullshit excuse not to go?”

Betty huffed out a small breath while smiling, “yes. I promise."

Veronica smiled brightly, looking pleased with her answer. "Good." She turned off the car and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Now, let's go eat," she said and got out of the car. 

* * *

Later, the first thing Betty noticed when walking through the front door of the school was Archie standing at her locker. She side-eyed Veronica, who was walking beside her, drinking her coffee.

Betty stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Um... I'll meet you after class?"

Veronica gave her a confused look before spotting the red-headed boy standing before them. She smirked while nodding her head in acknowledgment. "Ah... I see. I can take a hint." She smiled widely as she patted Betty's shoulder, then walked in the direction of the corridor.

Betty took the steps towards the locker, giving the boy a vibrant and friendly look like she was excited to see him. "Hey."

Archie leaned against the locker next to hers, gazing at the alluring features on her face. "Hi," he replied.

She opened her locker, feeling slightly anxious from his close presence. She unzipped her backpack and took out her books. 

"I haven't heard from you in a couple of days," he said, crossing his arms at his chest.

"Oh, yeah..." She exhaled as she looked at his glooming face. "I'm sorry. I came by your house this morning, but Veronica called and asked me to go to Pop's with her. I wanted you to walk me to school, but..."

"Oh," he uttered. "Well, that's fine." He uncrossed his arms and positioned himself closer to her locker door. "I wanted to, uh... I wanted to actually ask if you wanted to hang out after the game on Friday. We could go to Pop's or go to a movie or something."

Betty opened her mouth right away, feeling taken back by his forward demeanor. "Oh, uh..." She shut her locker as she fumbled with her words.

"Or we could do something else," he added. "Whatever you want."

She licked her bottom lip, delaying her response. She thought about wanting to tell him about the party but knew he would ask her a bunch of questions and feel uneasy about her going. "I would love to, Archie, but... I'm grounded." 

"Oh," he said, looking discouraged.

"My mom found out I took money from her bank account and grounded me, so yeah, that wasn't fun." She tittered as they both left her locker, him escorting her down the hall. "It's fine, though. I'm gonna figure out a way to pay her back."

"Wow, sorry. I feel responsible for that." Before they could walk any further, he moved in front of her and stopped. "Is there any way I could make it up to you?"

He had a familiar smug expression on his face that made her insides crawl. "No..." She said timorously. "I don't think so. Not while I'm still grounded, at least."

They were suddenly interrupted by the bell warning, leaving both of them speechless as they stared at each other, waiting for the other one to speak first. Betty smiled timidly as she tucked a few baby hairs behind her ear. "So... I'll just text you later?" She asked, taking a step back.

"Oh, yeah, sure. I'll text you."

"Okay." She gave a forced smile while continuing to take a few steps back before she turned and headed towards her class, immediately dropping the smile.

Betty couldn't shake that self-conscious feeling she had every time she stood next to her best friend. There was a sliver of hope she had for their relationship to be something more than awkward tension, but there was also that ounce of guilt she couldn't shake away. The guilt she felt every time she looked into his eyes and saw a boy who's hurting because of his father. The guilt she felt for leaving him heartbroken in front of his house after that crazy night. She did him the favor of paying his debt, leaving him without a trace of worry, but it still didn't feel enough.

She just wanted him to be happy. 

* * *

After school, she spent the rest of the afternoon at Pop's, studying for a test she had in History. Every time her mom rang her phone, she got excited, hoping it was finally her dad calling her back, but he never did. She was saddened by her father being so distant in her life, but it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. He spent most of her childhood in bars and casinos anyway. After he left her and her mom at the age of 10, Betty slowly started to blame herself more and more over time. She knew it had more to do with her mom being the problem and not her, but deep down, sometimes she felt like maybe it _was_ her.

She knew Alice blamed her too. Her and Hal's relationship became rocky the minute she found out she was pregnant. Their relationship was a ticking time bomb from the start, but her mom liked to pretend it was her daughter's existence that cut the bond in their relationship.

Sometimes Betty liked to envision her life without a family. It seemed easier. It was the thought of finally being on her own that kept her moving and detained her from escaping this prison world with just a handful of pills. There was another life out there for her somewhere and she was determined to find it. To experience it. To _live_ it.

* * *

Before the game on Friday, the cheerleaders were tying their shoes, tightening their ponytails, and applying their makeup in the girls' locker room. Betty pulled the string through the hoop on her shoe and tightened it into a neat bow while observing the other girls. She fought her hands from shaking as she straightened her socks over her ankles and shifted her skirt on her waist. The nerves were starting to kick in. 

The other girls sprang lively across the floor, laughing while scrambling to finish getting ready. Betty stood up from the bench and walked over to Veronica who was admiring herself in the small mirror that was attached to the inside of her locker door. "Hey," she said while looking at the raven-haired girl's reflection. 

"Hey," Veronica mumbled with her mouth wide open and her middle finger wiping the corner of her mouth. Betty felt a sudden weight on her chest that caused her to take a deep breath. Her hands were ice cold -- veins appeared as a bluish-purple tint under the skin. 

Veronica noticed the sickly pale look on her friend's face. "Are you okay? You look scared."

The blonde nodded while taking another deep breath. "My dad's supposed to be in those stands tonight and I don't know if I'm ready for him to see me bomb the routine."

"Oh, my god. You're not going to bomb the routine. You'll do great," she reassured her with a smile and shut her locker. 

"Okay, ladies! Put those lipstick tubes down and get on the field now!" Cheryl shouted in the locker room, catching everyone's attention. The girls scurried their way out the locker room in one giant group with Betty following behind. They ran out onto the field, making their way over to sidelines.

She didn't spot her mom or her dad in the stands right away, but there weren't that many people yet, so she figured they had to be on their way. 

She stretched her legs as she watched the bleachers fill with people. She glanced at every person making their way over to their seats, unable to identify them as either one of her parents. Cheryl called them over after the ref blew his whistle, letting people know the game was about to start. She peeped Archie in his helmet and uniform on the sidelines as she walked to join the huddle with the other cheerleaders. 

" _Maybe they're just running late,"_ she thought to herself.

The buzzer chimed and the players on the field took their positions, along with the cheerleaders on the sideline, who spread out while rattling their pom-poms in both their hands. Betty was forced to play along too, feeling like a robot who was following the other girls' moves but felt completely lost at the same time. She matched the other girls' expressions, painting a bright smile on her face as she cheered on the players.

Betty knew not to get her hopes up and even if she tried with everything in her not to, then why did she feel like someone had just punched her right in the gut? Even in a stadium full of people, she had never felt more alone. 

Her gloomy thoughts were deteriorating her mental state and she was tired of being disappointed. The small gust of wind whisked her thoughts away, forcing her to focus on the rest of the game. 

* * *

The team ended the night with a victory and everyone was celebrating on the field. Veronica ran over to her blonde friend, grabbing her hands and pulled her out onto the field to celebrate with them. Her resentful body language must've caught Veronica's attention because the girl dropped her smile and stopped in the middle of the turf. "What's wrong?"

Betty shrugged while suppressing the urge to drop a few tears. "Nothing." 

Veronica wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders, hugging her close and smiled. "We're gonna have fun tonight, you and me."

Normally, Betty would shun the idea of anything Veronica had in mind as 'fun', but after the couple of weeks she had, she would do anything to cave in and let her body take control over her mind for once. She was tired of the same old girl letting her biggest insecurities and biggest problems be a roadblock in between her and the rest of the world. She was in need of a new mindset.

"Well, there better be drinks there or I'm going home," she responded with a collected attitude and walked away.

Veronica raised her eyebrows in surprise as she watched the blonde saunter off the field. Betty couldn't believe herself. She had never taken a sip of alcohol in her life, and here she was, demanding to be provided with some later. The moment didn't feel real. It felt sort of like a dream. Like a dream she had been living in for several nights and couldn't find her way out of it. A dream that either took a turn for the worst or for the better. 

* * *

The awaiting party was getting closer as Betty sat in front of her vanity mirror, applying a fresh shade of scarlet red to her lips. She was sitting in a fitted black dress that reached the middle of her thighs and a black leather jacket she found in her mom's closet. She had her hair down as well as a thin line of black eyeliner under her eyes. Veronica reminded her numerous times over the phone that dressing like you live on the Southside was a crucial element, so Betty did the best she could when she picked out her own outfit. She was uncomfortable, to say the least. She never imagined herself to be wearing eyeliner or black, truthfully, so it was an odd experience. She had to constantly remind herself why she was doing this. Why she felt like she had to go to a party to prove something to herself. She sighed as she stared at the unfamiliar person in the mirror staring back at her.

_Why are you doing this?_

She felt her heart racing in her chest when she noticed the time on her alarm clock. She stood up from the chair and swallowed the knot in her throat as she patted her dress down. She scoffed under her breath, feeling completely horrified by her despicable outfit choice as she looked over it one last time. 

Her phone rang from her dresser and Betty walked over to her window, noticing Veronica's car was parked out front. She took a heavy breath, stressed about the escape route she was about to take. She grabbed her phone from her dresser and the leather shoulder strap purse from the bed before walking back over to the window and unlocked it. She pushed it open -- the overwhelming fresh air hit her as she stuck her legs out the window and sat down on the windowsill.

She looked down at the 10-foot drop, then looked up at Archie's window, noting the light was turned off, so he most likely wasn't in his room. Her breath quivered softly as she tossed her purse to the ground and slowly started shifting her body on the windowsill so that she was turned over onto her stomach. "Oh... my god," she said to herself with a shaken voice as she held on tightly to the surface and slowly maneuvered herself down the wall. 

"Oh, crap. I'm gonna fall."

She held on as her body dangled from the side of the house. She looked down at the drop, noticing how far down it still was and shut her eyes tightly from the fear. 

"Veronica!" She yelled out. "Veronica!"

Her friend got out of the car and started laughing hysterically as soon as she saw her. 

"Veronica, this isn't funny! Help!" 

Veronica held her stomach as she tried to calm down. "I'm sorry, it's hilarious." She walked over to the side of the house and stared up at her. 

"I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die," Betty repeated over and over to herself.

"What were you thinking when you decided to climb out of your window?" She chuckled. 

"I wasn't thinking! I thought the drop wouldn't be that far down, but it looks far."

"It's not that far. Look --" She jumped up and slapped Betty's right ankle playfully. "Just drop down."

"I can't! I'm gonna twist my ankle if I drop backward." Betty's grip on the windowsill loosened when she adjusted herself slightly. "I'm slipping!"

"Okay, okay, okay." Veronica looked around the area to see if she could find something for Betty to step down on. "Do you have a ladder?" She asked right when the light in Archie's bedroom turned on. "Oh, no."

"What?!" Betty hissed.

"Archie!" She whispered loudly. "The light turned on in his bedroom!"

Betty inhaled sharply and squirmed her body against the wall as she felt her slick hands skid down the ledge. "AH!" She shrieked as she tumbled down to the ground, knocking Veronica over and the two of them collapsed on top of each other. 

"Ah..." Veronica groaned softly as the blonde struggled to roll over onto her back. 

They laid still on the grass, comprehending what had just happened before they turned their heads to look at each other and both broke out into a laugh. 

"Are you okay?" Veronica giggled and sat up.

"Yeah, I think so." Betty grabbed the back of her head and stood up. "I think you broke my fall." She laughed again before holding her hand out for Veronica to take it.

"I know. I was there," she teased and gripped Betty's hand to stand up. "I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for asking," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and brushed the grass off her outfit. "Also, I saw those white panties when you were up there." She smirked. "That black outfit isn't fooling anyone."

Betty opened her mouth and scoffed. "Shut up," she snapped while rolling her eyes playfully and grabbed her purse off the ground. "Let's just go before I change my mind." Betty strutted off while Veronica stayed behind. "You could've at least wore pink or blue. Anything is better than white."

"Shut up!" She shouted, resulting in a cackle to occur from Veronica's mouth. 

The two girls walked to Veronica's car. Betty wobbled in her black two-inch open-toed Steve Madden heels she borrowed from her mom's closet that were a bit too small for her. She could tell by the way they scraped against her heels every time she took a step, she would be in excruciating pain by the end of the night. It was once her raven-haired friend got around to the other side of the car and opened the door was when the nerves really started kicking in. That fall was nothing compared to the thought of being at a party on the Southside. _What if she didn't wear the right clothes? What if everyone could sense her fear? What if something bad happened to her or Veronica and neither one of them could find each other?_

The thoughts raced through her mind as she opened the door and got in after her. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage and with a blink of an eye, they were speeding on the concrete pavement. Veronica rolled down the windows and turned the stereo on full volume -- the beat drummed in her chest and the wind brushed against her right cheek. She felt a high in her chest reach its peak when she looked over at her friend driving and realized this was happening. She was really doing this.

It was another moment in her life where she felt a _fire_ for freedom. A moment where she knew the feeling wouldn't last more than a few seconds, so she caged it in her mind and would open it up to remember whenever she needed to. It was exhilarating -- a few seconds of ecstasy.

It was definitely a _time_ to be _alive_.

* * *

Thirty minutes had passed and the two girls were flying down an open paved road. 

"Veronica, stop going so fast. You're gonna get a ticket."

"We haven't seen one single car for a few miles now. We'll be fine," she replied and continued driving at the rapid speed. She was glancing down at the map on her phone every few seconds, causing Betty's anxiety to amplify. "Okay, It says I need to take a right soon."

"Give me that." The blonde snatched the phone out her hands.

"Hey!" She barked.

"You focus on driving. I'll tell you where to go," Betty said before looking down at the directions on the screen.

"Fine." She exhaled and turned the music on the radio down so she could hear her friend better.

"Okay, it says you're gonna take a right in .02 miles."

"Wow, thanks... Not like I didn't already know that myself," she replied sarcastically as she let her foot off the gas pedal and started slowing down. 

They turned on a small dark paved road with trees surrounding it. "Are you sure this is the turn in?" Veronica asked as she pulled down a narrow path. "This is sketchy."

"We're not even in Riverdale anymore," Betty remarked. "I thought this party was supposed to be on the Southside?" 

"Guess it's just a party for Southsiders." The dark-headed girl scoffed as she followed a distant light that peered through the bare trees. 

"Maybe we should just go home," the blonde said worriedly.

"No. We got this far, Betty. We're not backing out now." 

The frustrated Veronica drove further down the rocky strip of road until the two girls heard a muffled beat off in the distance. They came to short stop and stayed silent to hear the location of the music. "Just keep going," Betty said quietly. 

The girl behind the wheel continued down the path. As they got closer, the two gawked at the dimly lit house quickly approaching them at the end of the road -- Betty and Veronica pulled up beside another car parked on the gravel. The first few things the frightened blonde noticed were the people crowding the front yard, the broken windows on the house, and the graffiti spray-painted on the brick. 

"Holy... shit..." Veronica muttered. "This looks like a house you go to when you wanna perform a seance."

There were people sitting on the rooftop, drinking and chatting, and thanks to the broken windows, they could see people partying inside the house, as well. The wave of anxiety Betty was feeling caused her to swallow sharply. She deeply sighed as the rumbling sound of the car engine shut off and Veronica opened her car door to get out.

* * *

"Okay, just let me do the talking," Veronica said as they both walked up to the tall guy standing guard at the front of the yard. The horrifying man was as big as a linebacker. He had a small tattoo on the side of his face that Betty couldn't quite make out. 

Anxiously fidgeting with the strap on her purse, she peered at the large group of people standing around the dark house, drinking from their red solo cups and chatting. She gaped at the two people on top of each other, heatedly making out on the grass. Not far from them, there were two guys shoving each other back and forth until one of them punched the other in the face as hard as he could. Snapping away from her curiosity, Betty turned back to the scary man in front of her.

The guy glared at both of them, causing Veronica to smile timidly. "Hi..." she said to him. 

The broad man eyed the short girl in front of him -- his unyielding scowl made her skin crawl. "Who do you know?" He asked with a menacing voice.

Veronica lifted her eyebrows, surprised by his deep voice, and uncertain by his question. "I'm sorry?"

"Who do you know here?" He repeated, his tone darker and more stern.

"Uh..." She looked at Betty, then over at the people partying in the yard behind the man. "There were two girls who invited me- us." She swallowed. "I think they're here. I didn't... ever catch the girl's name, though."

"Sorry. No name, no enter," he stated.

"Ah, come on. We drove all the way here."

Betty franticly grabbed her friend's arm, pulling her close to her and whispered, "Veronica, it's not worth antagonizing the scary dude, okay? Let's just go."

"Hey! That's her. That's the girl." Veronica pointed excitedly at the person walking on the sidewalk, immediately attracting the girl's attention.

"Hey. Cool, you guys made it." The girl smiled as she walked over to them. "They're with me," she said, turning to the bouncer. 

The man stood there with a darkened expression on his face before he nodded at the two girls in front of them, giving them the signal to go in. Veronica quietly shrieked with excitement as she grabbed her friend's hand, and mosied passed him. 

"Thanks," she said to the girl. 

"Yeah, no problem. Just come find me if you need me. You two have fun." She smiled politely as she proceeded passed them. 

Veronica turned to her friend with a cheery smile and daring eyes. "Wanna go inside?" She asked.

Betty hesitated, opening her mouth to respond, but no words came out. She wanted to avoid the house as much as possible. There were too many worrisome thoughts that raced through her mind, causing her to panic slightly. 

"It'll be fine. Come on." Veronica grabbed her friend's sweaty hand again, leading her on the pathway to the front door. 

A harsh cloud of smoke overwhelmed her senses once she stepped into the house. There was no source of electricity, just a heavy amount of candles swarming the place. The destroyed walls were covered in writings and symbols that appeared to be gang signs. She recognized the serpent logo painted next to a broad crown with the devil's tail in the center of it. 

It seemed like a long walk from the front door to the table of alcohol Veronica paused in front of. It was like she was on a never-ending horror ride at an amusement park where the monsters and ghosts could pop out any second.

"Alright, what do you want to drink?" Veronica asked as she tilted the half-empty bottles to read their labels.

"On second thought, I changed my mind about the alcohol."

"What?" 

"I don't want any," Betty confessed.

"Betty Cooper, you cannot get through this party without a drink." Veronica picked up a bottle of Smirnoff and poured a little bit of it into a red solo cup. "Swallow it." She held it out to her.

"No..." she protested.

Veronica pressed it against her chest. "Take it."

"Fine." She sighed in frustration and irritatedly grabbed the cup from her. She looked down at the clear liquid at the bottom of the plastic cup and sloshed it around before giving Veronica a loathing look, then slowly brought the rim of the cup up to her parted lips, tilted it up and let the liquid fall into her mouth. She grimaced from the fiery consistency as it burned its way down her throat. 

"Better, right?"

Betty coughed, then shook her head as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand in disgust. She felt like she had just drunk a sip of pure rubbing alcohol. "That's nasty."

"Yeah, it's better mixed with soda or something," Veronica said before she swiftly took a shot of it herself. "Mmm..." Smacking her lips together, "raspberry."

Betty goggled at the short girl in front of her, surprised by her unfazed reaction to the alcohol. 

Veronica set her cup down on the table and started tip-toeing in place. "Crap, I have to pee," she said as she looked around for a bathroom. "I'm gonna go see if I can find a toilet in this dump. I'll be back."

"Wait- you're kidding, right? You're gonna go by yourself? You can't leave me here alone," Betty said concernedly.

"B, you'll be fine. Just wait right here and don't talk to anyone." 

Before Betty had a chance to say anything else, Veronica was already out of her sight. She stood in place, watching her friend walk through a group of guys dressed head to toe in black. They were ogling her. She felt nauseated from the stale aroma in the room and the alcohol finally settling in her stomach. 

She sensed a few eyes on her as she stood uncomfortably next to the table, unsure of where to put her hands as she anxiously tucked them in her sleeves. She didn't know if it was the alcohol or the dimly lit setting that made her start to feel a little high. The startling presence of the random man pouring alcohol next to her was enough for her to unglue herself from the floor finally. She decided to go find her friend and courageously walked through the group of guys, down a dark hallway that led to another room. 

"Veronica?" She whispered loud enough for the people around her to hear. Peeking inside the room, Betty saw a ping-pong table with red solo cups placed tidily in a triangle shape on top of it. People were tossing a white ball into the cups on the opposite side of the table and celebrated when they got one in. She shuffled passed them, then exited through the other doorway, making her way into another room. Betty was immediately horrified by the atmosphere around her. There were guys sucking liquid out of a girl's bellybutton, girls without their tops on, and men snorting lines of white powder off a girl's naked bust. 

She swallowed harshly as she quickly shifted her body around a couple of shirtless girls, ending up at the back door with her hand gripping the door handle. She hesitated to open it, then looked back at the chaos behind her and knew the back exit door was the easiest escape route. She opened the door and swiftly slipped out, ending up in the cool, fresh air again. She breathed in the alluring musky smell, feeling like she could breathe again as she stepped off the back porch.

She was alone in the back. There was no other soul in sight, which seemed odd to her because the yard was relatively large and open. The only thing she could see was a small detached building that appeared to be a tool shed. She decided to walk to it, thinking she could see a tiny glimmer of light coming from the crack of the door. As she got closer, her ears twitched at the sound of soft chatter. People were conversating in that shed—all distinct male voices from what she could hear. 

Betty tip-toed carefully up to the light, peering in as she tried to inch her face in between the door and the jamb as much as possible without being seen. 

"Jones, I told you things wouldn't be running so smoothly if it weren't for me and my guys."

Her mouth fell wide open when she overheard a raspy male voice mention that familiar last name.

"Now, I have a lot of men who are eager for some cash." He continued. "If you're tired of these clients quittin' on you, then I suggest you up your game. Buy something a little stronger. Something you know will sell and keep these clients comin' back to you."

"What do you suggest?" A different voice asked, and it was that same magnetic tone that had once sent shivers down her spine. 

"Shiiiit. I don't know. I got a few choices right here for you. I got that H if you want that." 

"The last time I bought from you, Rafael, you put a bullet in one of my guys' heads. What makes you think I'm gonna make that mistake again?"

Rafael chuckled. "Relax. I ain't gonna mess with your guys. Plus, I don't really think you have an option. You're desperate on that side of town, aren't you?" 

"Fine," he said briskly. "How much for these?"

Betty let out a sharp gasp, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"Go check to see if there's someone out there," Rafael ordered, and Betty started to panic. Rushing to the side of the tool shed, she tried to hide out of sight. Her heart was pounding in her chest, causing her to breathe rapidly as she was pressed against the small building. She heard a couple of footsteps on the grass as one of the guys stepped out of the shed and looked around. She bit her bottom lip harshly and tried to breathe steadily through her nose, but it came out like a soft wheeze. There was a long silence, and the only thing she could hear was the sound of the light, subtle breeze, and her own rigid breathing. She tried to hold her own breath, feeling like her lungs were immediately about to burst, then suddenly, without a shred of warning, the man peeked his head around the corner, causing her lungs to give out as she was startled by his presence and blew out a large bolt of air. 

He glowered at the panting girl in the black dress, standing against the tool shed. The unfamiliarity of the man's features made her even more anxious as he determinedly walked over to her, grabbing her by the wrist, and Betty tried to pull her arm out of his grip. "Let go of me!" She demanded. He wouldn't budge and continued to drag her back to the front of the shed and kicked the door wide open, revealing a total of five guys who were all staring right at her. 

"This one of yours?" 

Jughead leered at the blonde soul standing in the doorway, recognizing those ravishing green eyes as they stared right at him. She gulped as she made eye contact with the man in the black leather Serpent jacket, who had his usual darken eyes that shot a haunted ray through hers. He was scowling at her like she just walked into a lion's den. 

And with the tight grasp the man had on her wrist and the wolfish stares the rest were all giving her... maybe she _did_.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She took little short breaths while looking up at the the Serpent with the bloody knife in his hand. He had an unusual expression on his face. One that seemed too repentant for him.

There were three guys dressed in Serpent jackets who were standing on the left side of the shed. Betty only recognized Jughead and Sweet Pea. The other two must've belonged to the broad-shouldered man, who was standing next to Jughead, and Betty automatically matched him with the voice who was referred to as _Rafael_. The three bricks of what was presumably heroin stacked on the white table in front of them caught her attention next. Rafael leaned on the plastic table containing other drug paraphernalia, as well, and gazed suspiciously at the lass wearing faded red-lipstick and wavy blonde hair.

"Who is this girl?" Rafael turned to Jughead, who had his eyes locked on the ground, refraining from looking into anyone else's. "Is she one of yours?"

Jughead shook his head, looking slightly frustrated. "No," he replied. 

"What are you doing here, sweetheart?" Rafael questioned the girl. "Come to chat?"

Betty swallowed harshly, feeling her right bicep start to numb from the guy's firm fingers bruising it. "Uh, no... I was- I was just, um..." She struggled to talk as her jaw shook nervously. "I-I got a little lost. I was trying to find the bathroom."

Rafael turned to his men behind him, giving them an amused smile, which resulted in them letting out a few chortles. "Well, it's not out here," he said to her.

"Yeah, I realize that now," she said softly under her breath, feeling a bit foolish for giving him that answer.

"So, what are you, a nark, or something? How'd you even get in?" He asked while cocking his left brow, and Betty was so sure her insides were going to liquify from fear if he kept asking her more questions. 

"I... I'm just here for the party. Not a nark, I swear."

He gave her a skeptical scan up and down her body as if he was searching for answers that were stitched on her black cotton dress. "Who let you in?"

"The guy out front di-d-" -she swallowed. "My friend and I came together, and she knows someone at the party, so the guy just let us in."

His eyes broadened, looking like steam was about to escape them. "Really? Well, I'll be having a nice little chat with him." He walked to the side of the table, resting his left hand against it. "I've never seen you before, and as the party host, I think it's my job to know all of my guests."

She felt her face flush with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry. I- us- _we..._ we didn't know."

"That's quite all right," he replied, lightening his face up and turned his attention to the drugs on the table. "It was a miscommunication," he added while picking a brick up and started tracing his finger across the side of it. "It was my fault; I should've hired someone to do their job right."

Betty exhaled with relief before glancing over at Jughead, who wasn't looking at her but had a sharpened gaze on Rafael's movements.

"I do apologize for what I have to do next, though," he said as he set the brick of heroin back down.

Jughead's hawkish eyes followed the man's hands as they reached inside his back pocket, then angrily flared his nostrils and flexed his jaw when he saw the black object being pulled out of his pants.

She followed his gaze and narrowed her fearful eyes at what appeared to be a gun in his hand and immediately felt her heart drop to her stomach. She heard the pounding of the organ in her chest, beating rapidly against her ribcage as he inserted the magazine into the gun. 

"Wh-" She swallowed her breath. "-what do you mean?"

"Well, you were snooping around in places you shouldn't have been snooping," he said as he set the gun on the table and stuck his finger inside the trigger guard and spun the weapon around his finger. 

"Wel- I... I won't tell anyone, I swear." Her tone grew more desperate. "I didn't hear anything, okay? I don't even know what that is on the table," she said, pointing to the small stack of drugs, even though she knew exactly what it was.

"It's heroin." He smiled maliciously. "See? Now you know." He picked up the gun and slowly took a few steps towards her, provoking her petrified body to tense up. "Please..." She pleaded under her breath. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. I-I don't want to tell anyone about your drugs." Her voice was more shakey than it had ever been, and the adrenaline pumping through her veins forced a glossiness to appear in her eyes that only seemed to dry them out even more. Her mouth salivated ferociously, making her swallow uncontrollably as her head and body tingled from the continuous fear. 

"Go find the friend for me," he said, waving his hand towards the door, and the guy let go of Betty's arm to follow his orders and walked out of the shed.

"No, please. Don't!" She yelled after him, but the guy didn't listen and continued to walk through the yard to the house. Rafael shut the shed door and forcibly grabbed Betty's right arm, yanking her in front of him before he wrapped his arm around her waist, securing her in place. "No, no, no!" She howled. "Please! No! PLEASE!" She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she felt the muzzle of the gun press against her temple. "Stop, stop, stop! No! Please! Stop! Stop! NO! I'm begging you!" Her voice and body shook uncontrollably as she desperately pleaded for her life. Rafael pulled the hammer back, cocking the gun, and placed his index finger on the trigger. 

"Lights out, gorgeous."

Betty's eyes were shut tight enough for her to squeeze a few tears out. "PLEASE!" She wailed out. Her body was in complete shock that her brain didn't have time to process what was genuinely happening. She just clenched her shakey fists as tight as she could and hyperventilated in and out of her nose. Rafael slowly began to pull the trigger back, and there was nothing but silence for a few seconds as she listened to the sound of her heart pulsating in her chest.

_Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Bo --_

"You really think that's a good idea?" A voice sounded in the background, interrupting the silence, and Betty widened her eyes from the numb chillness taking over her body as she felt her lungs start to give out.

"What?!" Rafael barked.

"To shoot her right here?" Jughead asked with his arms folded over his chest. "In the head, especially? The messiest place to shoot someone."

He exhaled, "what's your point?" while continuing to keep the gun pointed at her head.

"Don't you think people at the party will hear the gunshot?" Jughead's eyebrow twitched.

He released the gun from her head and rolled his eyes out of conspicuous irritation. "What do you suggest then?"

Betty managed to react normally again. She met eyes with the Serpent leader standing in her view, and Jughead's jaw clenched angrily in response. "I don't know..." he said quietly.

"Well, think of something." Rafael waved the gun in the air. "I don't have all night," he said while stepping away from her.

"What about a blade?" Jughead spoke, leaving Betty stunned by their ability to converse freely about ways of killing her. It terrified her to know that no matter how much she begged for her life, they wouldn't hear her.

"I don't have a blade," he responded aggressively. "You know what? This is a waste of time." He positioned the muzzle of his gun against the side of her head again, causing her to gasp for air as she fumbled over her feet while he steadied her in place. "The music's blaring, they probably won't hear anything anyway," he added before getting a firmer grip on the gun, ready to pull the trigger.

"You really want her blood on your hands?" Jughead asked critically, and Rafael groaned from his constant heckling. 

"I don't really care, and since when have you cared? You've never judged how I deal with people before?" He questioned.

Jughead banged his hands on the table and leaned against it. "I'm just trying to be smart, Rafael! We're in a public place with people partying just a few feet away. How idiotic can you be?"

" _Fine_ , if you're so worried about it, then you deal with her." He manipulated her body over to Jughead. "You have a blade on you, don't you?" He shoved her forward, causing her to topple over and land on Jughead. Jughead immediately grabbed her upper arms, bracing her up as she awkwardly removed her hands from his chest and averted her eyes away from his. 

"...yeah," he replied tentatively as he scowled over at Rafael.

He smiled smugly to himself. "What's the matter, Jones? You've fallen soft for a girl you don't even know?"

"No." He glowered more intensely as he seized Betty's arm, forcing her right next to him. She squealed from his harsh grip and briskly let out a sharp exhale. 

"Then, do it," he demanded, voice savage and ghastly sounding. 

"I just --"

He cut him off, "either you do it or I'm putting a bullet in this girl's head." He cocked the gun in his hand again before aiming it at the center of Betty's forehead.

Jughead felt Betty's body recoil slightly in response. He flared his nostrils and breathed in deeply, prolonging the silence in the air as he contemplated his choices. Betty's mouth dried from the air overwhelming it. She thought she was close to passing out, which didn't seem like the worse thing in the world.

"Fine," he mumbled before taking the blade out of his pocket and swiftly flicked it open. 

She stared wide-eyed at the pointy object and slowly experienced a pierced ringing in her ears as her soul fled her body.

Jughead turned to face her, body just a few inches away from hers as he clutched her upper arm tightly. He gazed blankly into her fearful eyes while adjusting the blade in his hand, so he got a better grip on it. 

Her glossed eyes pleaded desperately for her life. "Please..." she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Jughead's expression didn't waver. Not a twitch of empathy appeared on his face. His usual darkened eyes burned through hers -- a dark greenish tint with black specs peeked underneath the hood of them.

He loosened his grip on her arm, then gently placed that hand on her waist. His fingertips brushed along the creases of her tight dress. She felt the outline of his rings skim against her hip, and immediately regretted the highness that single touch gave her.

She was unsure of his actions, but whatever his reason may be, she was grateful he got her mind to travel away from the thought of dying for a moment.

For one single second, she wondered if he was reconsidering because his glare softened a bit, and his touch remained tolerable. 

But that didn’t last when he gripped her hip and pulled her towards him, her frame almost pressing against his before he drove the blade through the left side of her abdomen. She harshly gasped, eyes bugged out of their sockets as she stared deep into his.

Her mouth stayed wide open in shock, the adrenaline shot through her veins, but it didn’t take long for her body to feel the unbearable pain. Another tear fell slowly down her cheek as she heavily let out a few shuddering breaths.

Jughead stared into her eyes, trying hard not to show her a pained reaction, but she could still see on his face that he was holding something back. He tried to soothe her right hip that he was holding with a few small strokes before he yanked the blade out of her stomach. She yelped at the sudden action, then found her body spasming before she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

She could feel the heated pool in her stomach as the blood seeped through her cotton dress.

She took little short breaths while looking up at the the Serpent with the bloody knife in his hand. He had an unusual expression on his face. One that seemed too repentant for him.

The area around her began to twirl, and her eyes grew heavier and heavier. The light-headedness took over, then a hurricane of sickness whirled in her stomach. She tried to keep her eyes open, but her mind wasn't strong enough to listen.

She knew she was gonna _die_.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why'd you help her?" She started, pausing for a few seconds. "Why not just let her die?"  
> Refusing to look at her, he frowned sheepishly and narrowed his eyes at the ground. "I don't like to kill people," he admitted.

In the next few seconds, Betty was knocked out cold. Jughead watched the blood trickle over the side of his knife, then ran his finger up and down the sharp end, smearing her blood along the cold metal before he wiped it off on his jeans.

"Well, look at that. Body count just gets higher and higher,” Rafael said with a smirk before he looked at Jughead."You can clean all of this up, can't you?" He asked, his eyes directed towards Betty, then the mess around them before he walked out, alongside the other man that belonged to him.

"What is going on?" Jughead heard a female voice coming from outside the shed and quickly darted outside to see a dark-haired girl being pulled by Rafael’s goon.

He waited until Rafael was out of sight. "Hey, I got this one, too. You can go,” he said, grabbing Veronica’s arm and pulled her away from him.

"But I need --" The guy started.

"Go!" Jughead barked, then started trotting back to the shed with Veronica dragging her feet behind him.

"What's happening?” She asked worriedly. “I was trying to find my friend, then that man grabbed me out of nowhere and took me outside. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Stop talking,” Jughead muttered before they both entered the shed, and Veronica immediately gasped when she saw her friend lying still on the ground.

"Betty!” She covered her mouth in shock. "Oh, my god!"

Jughead knelt on his knees beside the blonde and brought two fingers up to her pulse point on her neck.

"What happened to her? Is she okay?" Veronica’s voice was high and sounded distressed. “Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god." She repeated over and over. “She's... She's... Oh, my god." She took a deep breath. “Shit, shit, shit!"

"I'm gonna need you to shut your mouth for me,” Jughead snapped. “Can you do that?"

Veronica pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and quickly nodded.

"She's not dead, but she will be if you keep yapping your mouth. Do you understand me?” His tone was strict and stern. He looked over at Sweet Pea, who was standing against the wall. “Sweet Pea, go grab the truck and bring it to the back,” he ordered, and Sweet Pea nodded his head obligingly, then walked swiftly out of the shed.

Still kneeling beside her body, Jughead quickly removed his leather jacket and underneath shirt before tossing the jacket to the other Serpent. He was left in a fitted white tank top and dark jeans. He bunched the shirt in his hands, then pressed it against her wound, trying to slow down the bleeding. “Come put your hand here,” he said to Veronica.

Veronica quickly dropped to her knees and held the shirt in place. Jughead propped himself up onto his feet, snaking his arms underneath her legs and back. He lifted her in a cradle position, straightening his body up as Veronica held on, still keeping the shirt pressed against her friend’s wound. Betty's purse dangled from her shoulder, and Veronica quickly grabbed the purse from her so it wouldn't fall. 

“Walk with me, and no talking until I say,” he said to her.

Veronica agreed, and Jughead made his way out of the shed with Veronica alongside. When he noticed there wasn’t anyone else around, he turned the corner, walking around to the back of the shed and exited through the back gate. Veronica looked down at Betty, who was knocked out in the gang leader’s arms. She kept the pressure on her wound but could feel the blood already seeping through it.

There was a black truck parked on the grass in the back, and Jughead carried the blonde to the back door. Veronica maneuvered around them, opened the back door, and climbed in first. Jughead gently handed Betty to her, laying her across her lap before he shut the door behind them.

He hurriedly ran around to the driver’s seat and took the keys from Sweet Pea, who was already out of the truck.

“Go clean up the blood and tell Rafael I dealt with it," he commanded.

Sweet Pea nodded and held the door open for Jughead. He climbed in and shut it aggressively behind him.

Jughead put the truck in drive and sped off on the grass, driving his way over to the front of the house. Everyone moved out of the way for him as he navigated through a crowd of people and drove off the curb.

Veronica tried her hardest to keep her friend’s body in place, holding her still so the bumpiness wouldn't jerk her body.

“Are you taking her to a hospital?” She asked, sounding panicked.

Jughead ignored the raven-haired girl and proceeded to turn into a dark, secluded area about a mile away from the house.

“She needs to go to a hospital!” Veronica cried out, and Jughead continued to ignore her, slamming on his breaks and put the truck in park. 

He quickly got out and ran to the back of the vehicle. He pushed the tailgate down, and Veronica pulled the handle to her door and pushed it open with her foot. She yelled, "she's losing too much blood! We need to go to a hospital!"

"I can't take her to the fucking hospital because I did it!" He snapped. "I stabbed her!"

Veronica was silent, staring at him through the left side-view mirror that aligned with the outline of his body perfectly. She swallowed harshly, feeling her hand cover with her friend's blood. 

He walked towards her, grabbing their door and swung it open. She jumped from his hostility, fearing he would hurt her. "If you wanna help save your friend --" he started, sounding breathless. "-- go under the front passenger seat, there's a black bag. Grab it and bring it to me," he demanded.

Jughead carefully took Betty from her, cradled her in his arms, noticing she was still unconscious. Veronica climbed to the front seat as he carried Betty over to the bed of the back of the truck.

He climbed on top of it, kneeling right beside her as he yelled after Veronica, "hurry up!" The raven-haired beauty speedily grabbed the bag and rushed to where they were at. She handed it to Jughead and watched him unzip the bag full of medical supplies. He removed the shirt from Betty's gash, letting the blood continue to ooze out. 

"What are you doing?" Veronica asked concernedly. 

Jughead pulled the blade out of his back pocket while fingering the slash in her dress where the blade cut through it. He swiftly jabbed the hole with the sharp end of the knife, mindful not to accidentally cut her, and slit the dress down towards the bottom.

Veronica widened her eyes, then blinked in surprise. "Oh, my god."

He slipped the knife back in his pocket, then grabbed the split material and ripped the remaining few inches of fabric apart with his hands. Her dress opened up, revealing her white garments underneath. Veronica watched the gang leader tear her best friend's clothes apart and had her mouth wide open in shock. 

"Okay, I didn't hit an artery," he said breathlessly, then pulled out multiple pads of gauze and layered them on top of the bloody wound.

"How do you know?"

"Because the blood would be spurting out, and it's not!" He shouted, then pressed his hands firmly over the gauze. "Fuck, can you check to see if she's breathing?"

Veronica nodded, then crawled onto the bed of the truck, making her way over to Betty's face. She lowered her ear over her friend's mouth, listening to the sound of air briskly escaping her mouth and pressed her two fingers against the side of her neck, searching for a pulse. "Yeah, she's good, but her breathing is kind of short and fast."

He sighed aggravatingly. "Fuck. She might stop breathing soon if she doesn't wake up."

"Why is she passed out? I thought people could stay awake for a while when they get stabbed."

"Yeah, they can, but she passed out from shock, I guess. Let me try to wake her up." He grabbed her face with his left hand and shook it. "Hey," he said, then flattened his hand against her pale cheek and patted it a couple of times. "Wake up. Come on." Jughead continued to try to jerk her awake but was unable to get a response out of her. He grabbed her arms and shook her for a few seconds. "Wake up!" He inhaled sharply, letting go of her, then with one quick motion, he slapped her across the face. 

Betty gasped for air, abruptly opened her eyes wide, then lifted her head, sucking in short breaths.

"Betty!" Veronica yelled enthusiastically. "Oh, my god!"

Betty switched to panic mode, jolting her body away from the Serpent hovering over her, trying to move away from him, but Jughead grabbed her arm to steady her in place. "Stop," he demanded.

"Betty, calm down. It's gonna be okay." Veronica cupped her face and started hushing her to calm her down. "Shhhh... It's okay." She brushed her cheek and forehead soothingly. "You're okay."

Betty peeked down at her half-naked body and saw Jughead's fingers pinned against the throbbing bloody wound on her stomach. She winced, grabbing his arm, and started pushing him away, but he didn't loosen his grip. "Elizabeth," he said, eyes wide and rigid. "Stop moving."

Veronica grabbed her hand tightly. "Here, just hold my hand."

Betty did as she watched the dark-headed man concentrate on the parts of her skin that she usually kept hidden. She saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat; his eyes drifted down her body, then up to her chest before they awkwardly locked with her eyes. He quickly looked away, trying to focus on the lesion on her stomach attentively. She breathed in through her nose and out her mouth while squeezing her friend's hand harder. 

A few minutes went by, and Jughead kept the same amount of pressure against her stomach. "H-how much longer?" Betty asked, her voice tremored, feeling the chill in the air brush against her bare skin. "It's f-freezing." Her lips quivered, teeth chattered rapidly.

He looked under the pads of gauze and noticed the bleeding had died down a bit. He looked up at Betty, then at Veronica with a vacant expression on his face so they couldn't tell what he was thinking. He removed his hand from the wound and reached inside the black bag, took out a roll of elastic bandage wrap, and centered the start of the bandage over the knife wound and wrapped it around her midsection a couple of times.

He tore the end of the bandage with his teeth, then placed the roll back in the bag. He stood up on the bed of the truck and jumped down from it.

“That’s all?” Veronica asked, cocking her brow as she eyed the bandage that was messily wrapped around her friend’s stomach. Jughead impatiently patted the edge of the truck, indicating for Betty to meet him there. “No. It’s just to keep it from bleeding too much. We still gotta stitch her up,” he replied, waiting for the blonde. Betty raised her eyebrows worriedly, then looked at her best friend.

“Come on. We don’t have all night!” Jughead barked, slamming his hand down on the surface, urging the two girls to start moving.

Veronica hopped down first, leaving Betty struggling to scoot her body more than an inch. She tried not to howl from the pain, but it was difficult to rely on her arms to drag all of her weight across the platform. Jughead leaned over, reaching for her body and was able to scoop his right arm under her legs and his left arm bracing her back. He turned her body horizontally and used all of his muscles to lift her off the bed of the truck, pulling her towards him. Betty let out a short gasp as she immediately clung onto him, her right arm wrapped around the back of his neck, and her left hand linked with her right. He cradled her in his arms, and she was vaguely aware of how strong he was if he was able to carry her that easily.

 _"I should be terrified of him,"_ she thought. 

Considering he was the one who inflicted this unbearable pain on her, but she was too drowsy and lightheaded to resist and fight back. She didn’t want to trust him, but she didn't have much of a choice.

As Jughead started walking back to the truck door, Veronica grabbed the small black bag, then ran over to the door and opened it for them. Jughead carefully laid the drowsy blonde across the backseat. He kept her sitting up until Veronica climbed in after her and let Betty’s head rest against her lap.

Jughead shut their door, then hopped in the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. Before he drove, he looked up in his rearview mirror and adjusted it until he had a clear view of Betty’s face. Veronica lovingly caressed her blonde locks as she laid still in her lap.

Jughead noticed Betty’s hazy green eyes closing every few seconds. “Make sure you keep her awake,” he said, then pulled the manual shift down, putting the truck in reverse and backed out of the narrow gravel road. Veronica lightly patted her cheek, resulting in Betty’s eyes to flutter open. “Stay awake for me, okay?” She told her as she continued to delicately tap her flushed cheek.

* * *

Jughead had worn out the gas pedal by the time he arrived at their destination. The tires screeched when he swerved the car in the parking lot and slammed on his breaks. Betty was still nestled up against Veronica when he bolted out of the car, leaving the engine running and ran inside the building. He flung the door all the way open, then came back out with a body towel before the door had a chance to shut all the way. Veronica pulled the handle on their door and pushed it open before Jughead got to their side and handed her the towel.

“Take off her jacket and dress,” he ordered.

Veronica held the towel in her hand while scoping it out before looking down at her half-naked friend, then gave him a puzzled look.

“After you do that, you’re gonna wrap that around her to cover her up,” he said, pointing to the raggedy gray towel in her hands.

Veronica nodded slowly, then proceeded to take off Betty’s leather jacket that had already slipped down her shoulders. Jughead watched the blonde sit up, letting her jacket and dress slide down her body to reveal the back of her bare shoulders to him. He swallowed, then his view of her backside was blocked when Veronica shielded her with the towel. She wrapped it around her once Betty discarded her clothing items.

Jughead cleared his throat, and Betty turned her head to look at him before Veronica stepped out of the vehicle and helped her friend shift her body until she was able to wrap her left arm around the Serpent’s neck.

"Where are we?" Betty asked with a groggy voice as Jughead supported her limp body in his arms. She felt her head cloud with dizziness once she gazed up at the building in front of them. 

Not answering, Jughead started walking towards the back door while Veronica hesitantly followed behind. Unable to support the weight of her head any longer, Betty rested it on his shoulder, feeling a bit high from the blood loss.

She tried to keep her eyes open, but couldn't see much of anything passed the outline of his goosefleshed neck that was closer in proximity to her breathing than she had realized. She heard the sound of music traveling from a room as they entered the building. Her nose immediately filled with the familiarity of the smell of smoke and alcohol swarming the place. 

"Whoa... what happened?" She heard a deep manly voice ask nearby and spotted the man standing next to a pool table with the Serpent logo printed on the bed cloth of it.

_The Whyte Wyrm._

"Open my office door," Jughead commanded and continued to walk across the smoggy room, making his way over to the back of the bar. Betty kept herself covered with the towel, not wanting any strangers to see her unclothed body. 

The man came up from behind, carrying the key in his hand and unlocked his door. "Do you want me to take care of her?" He asked his leader, opening the door for him, then held out his arms, expecting Jughead to say yes. Betty's body immediately tensed up. She mindlessly rotated her head to bury her face in the spot between his neck and collarbone for a split second.

"No. I'll take care of it," Jughead responded brazenly, then headed into the office with the injured blonde. Veronica awkwardly gave the man a timid smile before following in after Jughead. Betty lifted her head, looking around the room as Veronica shut the door behind her. There was a gray metal office desk located towards the center of the room with papers stacked on top of it and metal cabinets positioned against the wall. In the back corner of the room, there was a narrow spiral staircase that led through a circular hole in the ceiling.

"In the bottom drawer of that cabinet," he pointed his elbow towards the cabinet, "there's a small bag. It kind of looks like a pencil case -- can you grab it and follow me up those steps with it?"

Veronica nodded and made her way over to the cabinet, grabbing the case out of the drawer as Jughead headed towards the bottom step. "Wrap your arms around my neck," he said to Betty, and she obeyed, securing her arms around his neck. 

The stairs were a challenge for him to fit his and her body around the curve of the metal guardrail. Betty felt even more lightheaded as he struggled to carry her up the narrowing staircase. When they finally got to the last few steps, Jughead halted her up through the hole. "Can you lift yourself up?"

Betty's head was already above the hole, so she bent her arms back and gripped the edge before situating the back of her lower left arm down, struggling to support her weight. She groaned due to her frustrating lack of strength and from the excruciating pain that was throbbing in her lower left abdomen. When she felt his strong hands hug her bare thighs, she reactively jumped in surprise, forcing a sharp sting in her wound that felt like a million needles piercing her skin at once. 

She yowled in pain, and Jughead gripped her thighs harder, holding her in place so she wouldn't fall. "Come on." He patted her leg, encouraging her to keep going. "You can do it." He boosted her up, and she scooted the rest of her body up through the opening, landing on her back while her legs dangled over the rim of the hole. Jughead smoothly hoisted his body up through the opening and stood with his feet on either side of her waist, superiorly looking down at her.

The room was dark, so she couldn't see anything that wasn't dimly lit from the light seeping through the hole in the ground. She peered up at the room around her, momentarily feeling uneasy about the unfamiliar dark room the gang leader had just taken her to. She heard the startling sound of footsteps coming up the metal staircase, then remembered Veronica was with them. 

"Hey," the raven-haired girl greeted as she stuck her head through the hole and jumped up onto her stomach, then slithered her way out.

She slid the small bag over to Jughead's foot. His attention shifted from the girl underneath him to the bag next to his foot and reached down to grab it. He walked away from her, headed to the other side of the dark room. 

"How are we doin', girly?" Veronica crawled over to Betty. "You feeling okay?"

Betty forced the corners of her mouth to curl up. "I'm fine," she replied.

"Just hang in there, okay? We're gonna get you fixed up." She gave the girl a big smile.

There was a faint clicking sound, then suddenly, the entire room lit up. Betty tilted her head back, noticing Jughead standing by the light switch.

Her eyes were drawn away from him when the layout of the room caught her attention. A few inches in front of Jughead, there was a king-sized bed that laid legless on the dark hardwood floor. The velvet headboard was black, as well as the thin cotton comforter that overlayed a set of silky dark gray sheets.

Windowless brick walls surrounded the entire room -- which seemed big enough to be a dance studio. 

Jughead stepped over to a desk positioned against the wall and turned on the desk lamp. "Bring her over here."

Veronica grabbed Betty's arms and helped her up to her feet. "Do you want her to lay down on that?" She asked, pointing to the bed as she draped Betty's arm over her shoulders.

"No. She'll get blood on my bed. Put her on the desk over here," he responded, and Betty found herself peeking over at the bed again, now aware that it was his. She hobbled over to the desk, and Veronica helped prop her up on it. She sat up straight, leaned her back against the wall, and adjusted the towel around her body, making sure it was covered up.

Jughead moved the desk chair out of the way, pushing it toward Veronica. The raven-haired girl understood the gesture and moved it to the side of the desk and sat down in it.

He opened a small door attached to the desk and pulled out a large bottle of clear liquid.

"What is that?" Betty asked curiously.

"It's Vodka," Veronica replied immediately before Jughead had the chance to. He gave her a quelling look, trying to silence her with a stare. "Sorry..." She pursed her lips.

Jughead sighed, then grabbed both of Betty's thighs to spread them apart, making room for him to step in between them. She squirmed slightly from the touch, aware of how close he was to her.

"Remove the towel," he said bluntly while his attention was on the supplies he was removing from the small bag. 

Wide-eyed, she swallowed and stared at him hesitantly. She slowly started to unwrap the towel from her body, peeking up at his eyes every split second once she revealed a body part.

Not paying attention to her, he took a surgical pad from the bag and dampened it with the vodka before he wiped the needle with the pad, making sure it was sterilized. He then looked up at the now uncovered girl's waist and unwrapped the tape from her midsection. 

Out of uncomfortableness, she sucked her lips between her teeth. She found herself focusing on the outline of his arm muscles, trying not to look down at the bloody mess on her stomach. She noticed the way they contracted whenever he flexed his arm out -- the way his triceps looked so defined. She had never seen him without his leather jacket on. Wearing just his white tank top, she realized his body was more toned than she expected.

Without warning, there was a stream of liquid washing over her stomach. She gasped in surprise at the liquidy content, then felt an overload of a fiery sensation burning the left side of her stomach. She inhaled sharply, contracting her stomach back and heaving her chest forward at the painful act. "AH!" She exhaled out. "MY GOD!"

"Easy, easy, easy," he repeated, positioning his hand down on the spot next to her leg. 

She bit her bottom lip hard, eyeing the open bottle of Vodka in his hand. She let out short heavy breaths while the alcohol flushed the wound and flowed down to her panties, soaking the pearl white lacey material. She felt the liquid seep through her underwear and immediately attempted to squeeze her inner thighs together but accidentally trapped him in between them instead. Once she realized the awkward position, she diverged them and shifted her body restlessly on the desk. "Sorry."

He grabbed the towel out from under her and used it to soak up the Vodka running away from her wound. He dabbed the area around her belly button, then must've noticed the trail of moisture nearing her underwear because his movement stopped and his eyes momentarily fixated on it. She swallowed uncontrollably at the attentiveness to the lower region of her body, even if his glance was just for a second.

He set the towel down and picked up the surgical thread and tweezers. "Have you ever done this before?" She asked anxiously.

"Yeah," he said casually, distracted by the drizzle of blood surrounding her gash and carefully but noticeably swiped it off with his thumb. He opened a drawer in the desk and reached inside it, pulling out a pair of glasses and put them on. She observed the way they highlighted his face, perceiving his features in a seemingly more elegant way. Her eyes gazed pleasingly at the sight.

He picked up the bottle and handed it to her. "Here."

"What?" 

"Drink. You're gonna need it." 

She looked at the bottle hesitantly, then back at him, and shook her head. "I don --"

"Drink," he demanded, shoving the bottle forward, and Betty had no choice but to retrieve it from him. She exhaled a breath out before bringing the mouth of the bottle up to her lips and tilted it up, letting the liquid flow into her mouth. She held her nose, trying not to let her taste buds work so soon as she forced herself to gulp down a few swigs of the alcohol. She attempted to conceal a face of disgust when she took it away from her mouth and handed it back to him. 

"Wow," Veronica commented, looking surprised.

Jughead sneered at Betty's obvious repulsed facial expressions. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she nuzzled her mouth and nose against the back of her hand, clearing her throat before awkwardly tucking her hair behind her left ear. 

"You've never had a sip of hard liquor a day in your life, have you?"

Unconfidentally and timidly, she replied, "no."

"Yeah, I can tell. Your eyes are bloodshot now," he said, pointing to them, and she blinked a few times, feeling the dryness overlay them.

"Oh," she said softly and rubbed her eyes with her shaky, frail fingers. She sensed the alcohol begin to blaze inside her stomach -- the sensation numbed her limbs greatly, already feeling the pain on the left side of her abdomen simmer down. She felt her body relax on the desk, noticing it hadn't writhed in a while. 

"Okay, you can bite down on the towel if you want. This is gonna hurt," he said, pinching the surgical needle with the tweezers. 

"What?" She wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. Before her eyes comprehended the action in front of her, he pierced the swelling flesh with the needle, causing her to scream out in pain. "AH!"

She jerked her body back in agony, slamming her hands on the desk beside her. He clutched her thigh with his free hand to steady her. "Careful," he warned. 

Fastening her eyes on that hand, she sucked a vacuum of air between her teeth. "Ahh..." she moaned, then tilted her head back against the wall. For some reason, she had an intense desire for that hand to clench her thigh even harder. She watched it, memorized its strength, and ached for more than what he was giving her. Desperate for _something_ to take her mind off the excruciating torture of his other hand sewing her skin together. 

He worked and worked, continuing to stitch her wound despite the constant rejection her body was giving him. She couldn't stop jolting her body back and forth every time the sharp end of the metal steel made contact with her skin. She could tell the discomfort was wearing off the effects of the alcohol, so she grabbed the bottle and downed as much of the liquid as she could. She chugged it, letting it drown the remnants of saliva in her throat before he retreated his hand from her leg and snatched the bottle from her hand. "That's enough!" He snapped. "You're gonna throw up if you drink anymore." He slammed the bottle on the other side of the desk, and the loud sound of the glass hitting the wood would've startled her any other time, but the intoxication began to affect her. Her stomach warmed, body felt a bit tingly and numb while her head filled with cloudiness. She looked at him hazily, and the action of them two locking eyes didn't terrify her for once. She suddenly felt light and free from the anxiety and fear that was weighing her down before.

"You feel okay?" He asked, peering deep into her eyes, wondering if she was still responsive.

Half-smiling, her mouth slightly opened, and she nodded slowly. He shook his head disapprovingly at her drunken state, then went back to stitching her up.

She was still aware of the pain it was causing her, but the alcohol was too strong, and every single inch of her felt paralyzed. She was finally able to look down at her wound, watching him use both of his hands to thread the suture in and out of her skin. Although, she found it difficult to discern the wound due to the swell of her breasts that bulged out of the chantilly lace white bra. She hadn't realized how much skin was spilling out of her garment until now. 

She folded her arms over her chest, rubbing the goosebumps on her shoulders, then unfolded them and blanketed her hands over her breasts. She proceeded to try out different ways of covering herself, then realized nothing was effective. She cleared her throat, hoping to get his attention. "Can I get a jacket or something?" 

Too concentrated on the stitching, he didn't bother to look up at her. "I'll get you something to wear when I'm done."

She exhaled out her nose while shifting her body uncomfortably on the desk. She indecisively alternated each arm over her chest to cover it. Her distracting movements caused him to glance up at her every other second while he steadied the needle over her skin. She crossed both arms, hugging herself, which resulted in her elbow accidentally bumping his hand. "Sorry," she winced.

He kept his head down and glared up at her, slanting his eyebrows inward in annoyance. He set the tools down and went straight for her arms. "Relax," he said gently, unfurling them to reveal her chest once more. "Tensing up will only make it worse."

She nodded obligingly and rested her arms by her side, looking as if she was in a trance-like state, sensitive to his deep soothing voice and his hands on her skin. The alcohol truly made his commands a lot more difficult to resist. She deeply breathed in, relaxing her state of mind, so she could ease the insecurities of her half-naked body as the alcohol seeped further into her soul.

Despite her insecure notions, his eyes mindlessly traveling to her chest every so often felt like a drug to her. Every flick of his retinas landing on her bra made her feel a type of burning desire she had never felt before. He didn't know she could see him, but she did, and she craved every second of it. There was a short moment where he looked up over his glasses at her longing face, and she was too drugged out to look away. 

"You know you can cover yourself with that towel if you want," he said, eyeing her, then narrowed his eyes down at the towel right next to her. 

"Oh... That's okay," she said, shrugging off his request and watched him proceed to stitch her wound.

A few minutes had gone by, and Jughead had already given her five stitches. The knife gash wasn't as large as she thought it was. He sewed the remaining portion of it before cutting the remaining surgical thread with scissors. She was fascinated by his nimble fingers. Appreciating the way they could just as easily put her skin back together as they could tear it apart.

When the pain drifted after consuming the alcohol, she was finally able to focus on how gentle he really was.

 _"Ironic,"_ she thought _._

There wasn't a moment during the time of him tending to her wound that she questioned whether he was going to hurt her. It was ironic that she put so much trust in the same man who drove the knife through her abdomen. It bewildered her to believe he could be decent to her after performing such a heartless act, but the gentleness of his touch and the way he efficiently cared for her wound was as strange as a man putting out a fire he purposely caused.

Jughead dug inside the bag, taking out a pad of gauze and surgical tape. He placed the pad over her knife wound and tore a piece of tape off the roll before sticking it to one side of the squared bandage. He did the same thing for the other three sides, taping it down to make sure it was secure over the stitching. The last strip of tape felt different. He slowly slid his thumbs across it, carefully pressing it to her skin. The longing and slow action made her question if he were prolonging the touch and increasing the pressure because he was making sure it would stick properly or because he assumed the touch would be the last one.

He took off his glasses, then looked at her. Assuming he was finished, she put her hands on the desk and braced herself up before he dragged his thumbs delicately over the side of the tape once more, causing her to pause her movement and gaze into his sea-green eyes. 

He looked at her meaningfully as he kept his thumbs planted on the tape, then let one travel off the edge, grazing her stomach before he landed his entire hand on her waist. He patted her hip bone, signaling he was finished.

"Is it done?" Veronica asked, and Betty was too lost in thought to acknowledge her. She was eager to know what Jughead was thinking in that split second of connection they had.

"Yeah," Jughead responded, filling the bag with the medical supplies he was using.

Betty looked to her left at Veronica and gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that she was all right. Jughead zipped the small bag, then left her alone on the desk, walking towards a dresser on the other side of the room. He opened the middle drawer and pulled out a gray t-shirt. "Here. You can wear this," he said before heading back over to her and tossed the shirt onto her lap. 

She picked up the shirt, letting it unfold in her hands while examining its texture and design. It was a simple cotton t-shirt with a giant ' _S'_ on the front of it. She had seen him wear a similar shirt with the same letter on the front before, so she assumed he owned multiple in different colors.

She turned it around and upside down, slipping her arms through the sleeves and pulled it over her head. She carefully scooted off of the desk, landing on her feet and felt the shirt slide down to the top of her thighs. Thankfully, it was long enough to cover both her undergarments.

"There's a bed there." He pointed to it. "You can sleep there if you want and I'll get someone to drop you off at your house first thing in the morning." He turned to Veronica, forgetting she was there for a second. "Both of you," he added.

Betty looked at Veronica and gave her an approving facial expression while nodding her head. 

After a few seconds had gone by and the two of them didn't refuse his offer, he turned around and headed for the spiraling stairs before Betty stopped him with a question, "where are you going to sleep?"

He turned to her, and by her guess, he saw her standing timidly with her hands picking at her fingers as she itched for an answer.

"Don't worry about it."

He walked to the start of the staircase, foot edging off the hole on the ground.

"Can I get a shirt or something too?" Veronica called after him.

He didn't stop, hopped down on the first step without looking up at her.

"No," he rejected, then continued down the stairs.

Veronica held her mouth open in surprise and scoffed. "Well, then."

An airy giggle escaped Betty's mouth. She walked over to his king-sized bed and sat down on it. 

"You are going to be extremely sore tomorrow." Veronica took off her shoes and jacket, then made her way over to the bed. "How are you feelin'? Still drunk?" She pulled the covers back for her to get in.

Betty nodded and leaned back on the bedsheet. She tucked her legs underneath the covers and rested her head on the pillow. Veronica pulled the covers up over her, helping Betty get settled in. 

The mattress topper felt good underneath her back. The silky sheets had a cool texture that felt nice against her bare legs. She looked over at the nightstand next to the bed and saw a phone charger plugged into the outlet attached to the night lamp. She assumed she was lying on his side of the bed.

She rolled over onto her side, thinking about the bizarreness of the situation before she got distracted by the flatness of the pillow and quickly fluffed it with her hand. She made it fuller underneath her face, breathing in his scent. The smell had an aroma mixed between a men's cologne and a sweet detergent. She felt like she could sleep in his bed forever. It accented her body so perfectly. Like it was made and sculpted just for her liking. 

"Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning," Veronica said, then got up from the bed. Betty looked up at her with a forced smile and watched her walk over to the light switch on the wall. 

Next to the lamp on the bedside table, she noticed a picture frame of a boy who looked ten years younger than Jughead. He resembled Jughead; his dark hair matched his perfectly. He had a bright smile with olive skin just like his. There was something so innocent looking about the way he tried to flash every single tooth at the camera. His smile was contagious enough to have one end up on Betty's face. He was standing in a grass field that was as green as the glasses on his face. She wasn't sure if he was smiling wide because of the camera or because of the person behind the camera -- whoever it was. 

She found herself shutting her eyes, the picture blurred in her vision, lids flickered open and closed. And like that, she drifted off to sleep with the picture of the boy staying locked in her mind... until _morning comes._

* * *

A few hours later, Veronica awoke to an indistinct rumbling sound. She sat up in the bed, slowly opening her eyes and saw Jughead rummaging through his desk drawer.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes. “Um… I’m sorry, what are you doing?” She cleared her throat because her voice sounded groggy. 

He exhaled in frustration. “Trying to find a damn lighter,” he said with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and slammed the drawer shut. 

She tilted her left brow, “uh… okay.” 

She reached over sleeping Betty and turned on the bedside table lamp, then positioned herself back in the same spot she was in. “I would offer you a light, but I—I don’t have one.” 

He sighed, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and threw it down on the desk. “Right.” He backed up against the bed and dropped down in exasperation. He was sitting with his back facing her, legs hanging over the edge, and his distressed body language had Veronica a little curious. 

She pulled back the covers and scooted her body to the edge of the bed, landing right next to him. There was a long and awkward silence that they both didn’t seem eager to fill. She focused on the unmissable snake tattoo on his right shoulder,remembering he was a dangerous gang leader that kidnapped her friend and put a knife through her. 

Her breath trembled, hands anxiously rubbed at her thighs, working up the courage to speak.

“How—how did you know how to do all of that?” She asked, breaking the silence, then realized he probably didn’t know what she was talking about. “Help her,” she added.

He perked his ears and cocked his brow, “what?”

“I mean --“ she swallowed and released a quick sigh, "-- how did you know how to help her?”

He sniffled roughly while staring at the floor; elbows braced against his thighs in concentration.

“I’m in a gang," he muttered, his fingers fidgeting with his rings. "I’ve had to avoid the hospital for a few years now, so... you could say that I had to teach myself a few things if I wanted to survive this life."

Veronica nodded, then swallowed harshly as she focused on the bulky rings on his fingers. "Can I ask you something?"

"You already did," he retorted.

"No, I know, but just one more question, then I'll leave you alone," she promised.

His silence and lack of dismissal towards her request told her it was okay. She glanced over at the sleeping beauty, who was sprawled out on her back.  "Why'd you help her?" She started, pausing for a few seconds. "Why not just let her die?"

Refusing to look at her, he frowned sheepishly and narrowed his eyes at the ground. "I don't like to kill people," he admitted. "That's not really my thing."

There was something honest and vulnerable about his tone. Veronica wondered why he was even opening up to her at all.

"But don't get me wrong..." He stood up, eyes flaring with intensity. "... I will kill if I have to." They burned right through hers like he was signaling a warning. He walked away, headed down the stairs, leaving a trace of chill bumps on her arms and legs. She sat there a bit stunned from his threat, looked concernedly over at the blonde still wrapped up in the comforter. 

After their conversation and his footsteps heavy enough to leave prints on the ground -- surprisingly -- Betty was still sound asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had never been so at peace with the thought of death in her life. 
> 
> And Dying in the hands of her best friend and the very man who caused this turmoil seemed like an okay way to go.

It was still dark out, and Betty awoke to the sheer pain of her throbbing abdomen. She didn't have the strength to move much, so she straightened her right arm out and dropped it onto the warm body next to her. Veronica jolted awake and immediately pushed Betty's arm off of her.

"Jesus," Veronica moaned and groaned before she sat up on the bed and looked over at Betty. "What is it?"

Betty tried to swallow to moisten her dry throat, but that didn't help much. She could tell by the excruciating headache she had and the lack of wetness in her mouth that she was severely dehydrated. She swallowed again and opened her mouth to try to speak, but nothing came out.

Veronica grew impatient due to her friend's lack of communication. She walked over to her side of the bed and turned the bedside lamp on.

"Are you in pain? Do you need pain killers?" She asked, looking down at her.

Betty nodded her head slightly and held her throat, signaling that she was parched.

Veronica nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay, I'm gonna go try to find you some pain killers and water. Just hold on tight, okay?"

Betty made a little noise with her mouth and nodded as Veronica walked away and headed down through the hole in the ground. She had the flashlight on her phone turned on and was shining it on each step as she headed down the metal staircase. The office was completely dark, and she wouldn't be able to see a thing if it weren't for the flashlight.

She walked off the bottom step and made her way to the door, which, for some odd reason, was locked. She turned the lock on the door, opened it slowly, and peaked her head out, noticing the Wyrm was completely empty and the lights were dim.

She stepped out of the office and closed the door behind her before she made her way over to the bar and searched for a water glass. None were in her direct line of vision, so she peeked inside the cabinets and under the bar top.

"Can I help you?" A woman interrupted from behind her, causing Veronica to jump up in fright.

"Oh! Gosh!" She grabbed her chest, quickly turning towards the startling voice.

The young woman looked to be in her early 20s or late teens. She had ocean eyes and wavy platinum blonde hair that came down past her shoulders. She was a little taller than Veronica but not by much.

As she held her heaving chest, waiting for her heart rate to go down, she peeped the small Serpent tattoo on the side of the girl's wrist.

"You're one of the girls staying up in Forsythe's loft upstairs, right? You and that injured blonde girl..."

Veronica looked at her skeptically, wondering how she knew about Betty's injury. Jughead didn't seem like the type to voice information like that around. "Yeah... How did you..."

"Oh, I was here whenever you guys walked in last night. I saw Forsythe carrying her to his office and you following behind. I figured he let you guys stay up there," she replied with a weak smile -- one that Veronica could tell right away was not very genuine.

The blonde walked over to the glasses hanging on a rack over the sink, and Veronica wanted to hit herself over the head for not noticing them sooner. "Did you need something?" She asked, grabbing one off the rack. 

"Uh, yeah..." the dark-haired girl replied. "Do you know where he is?" She swallowed hesitantly, "Forsythe..."

"Oh, he had to go home. He should be back before sun up, though." She filled the glass with water and took a sip from it.

Veronica blinked a few times as her head shook with confusion. "Home? Isn't the loft upstairs his?"

"It is, but he has to go home a lot because of..." she paused momentarily and looked up at her. "...reasons."

"Okay... Well, what time is it right now, and when will the sun be up?"

"Almost 6 am," the girl responded after pulling her phone out of her pocket and looking at the time. "The sun should be up soon, but if it's something I could help you with, I'd be happy to." She shrugged and put her phone back in her pocket. 

"Um, yeah, do you have pain killers? They're for my friend upstairs. She's in a lot of pain." Veronica spared the details of her friend's knife wound, figuring it was best not to out the unforgettable act Jughead did to her. He seemed to be in charge of everyone with a snake tattoed on their bodies, but she still didn't know if she could trust any of them.

"Yeah. I have some in my purse. Hold on one second," she replied and disappeared to the back.

Veronica stood there, contemplating if she should get a glass of water, but didn't want to overstep. Before she could decide, the blonde walked back with a small bottle of Tylenol. "Is this okay?" She asked, handing her the white bottle with a red label on it. 

"Oh, yeah, perfect." She retreated it from her and briefly scanned over the treatments on it. "Do you mind if I get a glass of water, as well?"

"Oh, sure," the blonde replied and walked over to the glasses, pulling one off the rack and held it under the water faucet. She waited until it was half full before she looked up at Veronica again. "I'm Elaine, by the way, but everyone just calls me Laine."

The raven-haired girl managed a half-smile, concentrating on the water streaming into the glass, then with downcast eyes, she replied, "Veronica." 

Elaine turned the facet off whenever the glass was filled to the brim. "Oops. Kind of got a little full," she said as she carefully gave Veronica the full glass of water.

"That's fine," she replied and took a sip from the cup. "Thanks." She didn't bother to give her a good-bye smile before she turned away and headed for the office door.

Elaine watched her with knitted eyebrows as she disappeared into the small room, then took out a rag from underneath the countertop and started distracting herself by wiping down the clean surface. 

Veronica managed to make it up the spiral staircase without spilling. She noticed Betty was sitting up on the bed with her back against the cushioned headboard and her head turned towards the nightstand, staring at a picture frame of a brown-haired little boy. 

"Hi, I'm back with some pain killers and water for you." She walked over to her side of the bed and sat down next to her. "Here you go," she said while handing her the drink and two pills she had already taken out of the bottle.

Betty didn't try to speak. She just grabbed the pills from her, popped them into her mouth, and downed the entire glass of water. She let out a deep exhale, then grabbed her stomach and whimpered in pain. 

Veronica winced in sympathy, grabbing the glass from her and set it down on the table. "There's a bathroom up here, so if you're still thirsty, I can fill the glass back up with sink water."

Betty opened her mouth to speak, managing to spit out a raspy sound, almost like a croak. "I --" She cleared her throat. "I need more," she finally vocalized, and Veronica couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, your highness," she teased and took the glass from the nightstand and walked over to the bathroom with it. 

Betty sat there, resisting the urge to holler from the pain. By now, the alcohol had worn off, so her pain tolerance was at its lowest point. She found it difficult to breathe because every inhale of air felt like a patch of skin ripping itself apart. Every organ in her stomach was sore and screaming at her. She looked over at the bottle of Tylenol sitting on the nightstand and considered swallowing the rest of the pills inside it. 

She suddenly heard a noise coming from the office downstairs. There was a distinct rumbling sound; then, the light turned on. She had the urge to hide under the comforter or call for Veronica, but she was in too much pain to do either one of those. The footsteps up the staircase got louder, and Betty identified the person to be getting closer. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her stomach felt queasy.

Veronica walked out of the bathroom, then shifted her attention over to the hole in the ground once she saw Betty's eyes staring at it with fear. 

Jughead's head appeared out of the hole, and Betty exhaled with relief. Veronica continued her way over to her side of the bed and handed her the glass of water. 

"Why is she awake?" Jughead questioned and walked over to both of them.

Veronica sighed as she fed Betty two more capsules. "She needed water."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He narrowed his eyes at the bottle in the raven-haired girl's hand. "Is it a good idea for her to be taking those with alcohol?"

"I'm sober now," Betty's voice cracked under her breath. She fought a tear from escaping her tear duct, and her muscles started contracting from the unbearable pain.

Jughead's face lightened up, and Veronica took the empty glass from her after she was done drinking.

Betty sniffled and slowly settled her arms back under the blankets. Jughead stepped over to her side, and she flinched whenever he reached under the blanket and grabbed her upper arm.

"What are you doing?"

She winced whenever her body recoiled from his sudden touch. He examined her arm carefully, eyes filled with curiosity and concern. He brushed his thumb over her cool skin. "You're clammy," he said, then let go of her arm and placed the back of his hand against her forehead. 

She froze, hesitant to resist him grazing and dabbing her face and neck. He was likely just checking her temperature, but her body couldn't help but stiffen.

"Your skin is ice cold," he muttered, forming a crinkle in his left brow.

"Yeah," she exhaled out a trembling breath. "It's freezing in here."

"Betty," Veronica murmured and rose her eyebrows at her. "It's like 80 degrees in here."

The disquieted look on her face made Betty wonder with worry. She stared blankly, working up the ability to care about her own well-being, but her energy was far in the drain.

She had never been so at peace with the thought of death in her life. 

And _Dying_ in the hands of her best friend and the very man who caused this turmoil seemed like an okay way to go. 

She wasn't the type to fear the inevitable anyway. Sometimes when she found herself faced with danger, it was hard to fight the idea of death in her brain. It wasn't like she wanted to die per se, but life was hard enough. One wrong turn, and she could be gone forever. Bones. Dirt. Nothing but a 130-pound body rotting under a tombstone.

She didn't want the notion of death to soak up the entirety of her fear.

Life already did that. 

Jughead clicked his tongue, looking at Veronica as he inhaled a deep breath. "I'm gonna be right back," he said, then quickly exited the room.

She felt like her body was on the cusp of breaking down; the strong bursts of fire in her stomach impeded her breathing. Chills that felt heated arose on her limbs and began to painfully distract her. They were awfully similar to the times she was ill and was running a high fever, but only this time, they were merely burning her insides.

About thirty seconds passed before Jughead re-entered. His hands were empty, so she wasn't sure where he had run off to or what the reason was.

Maybe it was the collected expression on his face that kept her so at ease, but Jughead also seemed like the type of guy who didn't dare to show any kind of weakness. Plus, she considered he most likely didn't care if she died or not.

It wasn't long until that unruffled behavior came to a halt. He was now leaned against the side of the bed with his arms crossed tightly at his chest, eyes focused on the ground, and a single crinkle in his brow appeared.

That particular stance was something she did worry about. The guarded body language, the absent eye contact... It was like all the other situations where he was trying to express dominance or power. She figured out fairly quickly that he had this inexplicable tendency to shield his weakened emotions from her. No remorse or sorrow... pain or fear.

He refused to show any of it.

Jughead's steady gaze on the floor was soon interrupted by another presence entering the room. The person cleared their throat, and Jughead immediately rotated his head to acknowledge them.

It was a girl. She was standing a few feet away from the bed with a moist towel in her hands and an immediate fascination with Betty. Her curious eyes were deadlocked on hers, which made Betty a little skeptical as to why she was looking at her like that. The young girl looked to be about her age, but she figured she was a few years older.

Her slim frame and porcelain skin was unmissable, just because she was showing a bit too much of it.

Jughead snapping his fingers at her caused her to jump slightly, then she handed the steaming cloth over to him. He rested himself on the bed, sitting next to Betty, and folded the rag long-wise. Betty looked over at the girl and watched an emotion that looked similar to envy or hatred fill her eyes as Jughead placed the hot cloth over Betty's pale forehead.

"Do you need anything else?" The girl asked, her arms folded at her chest with attitude.

"No," he replied, still looking at Betty before he took his phone out of his pocket, turning his eyes away from hers and landed them on the screen. "You can go."

His dancing thumbs over the screen told her he was texting someone. She wondered who it could be. More realistically, she wondered about the phone number connected to the phone. 

_What're the first three digits? Are they the same as hers? What would his 10-digit number look like in her cell phone, and how many people have access to it?_

So many unanticipated questions that dallied in her head at once, making her feel like she was a crazed girl asking about Harry Styles' phone number. 

"She looks like she's in pretty bad shape," the blonde girl commented while examining her. "Do you need your gun? I can get it for you," she blatantly suggested, and Betty's heart collapsed to her stomach. 

_What...?_

_Did she hear that correctly?_

A hunted look was etched on Betty's face, her eyes wide and frightened by the barbaric proposal.

"No, Laine," he snapped and turned his head to her specifically to scowl at her. "What I need is for you to _go."_ He said it like a menacing roar, a lion trying to scare off the potential prowler lurking in his den.

Laine swallowed harshly, looking him dead in the eyes. Betty could detect the amount of heat and tension that was exchanged between the two, suspecting there was some kind of history there that left her curious. 

Laine frowned at him for as long as possible, making sure he saw the glint of anger and betrayal in her eyes.

Betty definitely saw it. 

She saw it, soaked it in, and tried to understand it desperately. 

After a few seconds went by, their silent connection disconnected when Laine finally turned around and walked aggressively out of the room, nearly stomping her feet on the hardwood floor. 

Jughead let out a sound that was probably meant to be a groan but came out more like a growl. He abruptly stood up from the bed, putting his phone back in the pocket of his Serpent jacket and crashed his hands together in frustration. The loud clap echoed throughout the room.

Betty feared what he was about to do, but all the anger that almost flooded out of his body was contained with one single fist clench, and a quick motion of his balled-up fist nearly hitting something, but hesitated at the last second and receded his arm back. He used that hand to brush his fingers through his hair, then once his tensed muscles relaxed, he walked determinedly out of the room, making sure to leave a trail of dust behind.

Veronica grimaced at his behavior and quick departure. "Um... What just happened?"

Outside, Jughead waited in front of the front entrance of the Whyte Wyrm, shoulder leaned against the wall as the tip of his tongue scraped along the bottom of his top front teeth. The sun rays scattered throughout the night sky as it rose from hiding. The brisk air had him crossing his arms while a motorcycle drove up to the curb. 

Jughead eyeballed the man carefully. He didn't acknowledge him until the man removed his helmet, revealing himself to be Sweet Pea, then Jughead gave him a quick head nod.

Meanwhile, Veronica was trying to get Betty to drink more water upstairs. "You need to keep drinking fluids if you have a fever, B," she said while touching the rim of the cup to her friend's lips. Betty took a dainty sip and accidentally let a small stream run down her chin. "Betty Cooper, open that mouth wider," she demanded, pressing her thumb to her chin and urged it down.

Betty parted her lips more, allowing the water to run down her throat. Veronica soothingly rubbed her shoulder, messaging to her that she was doing a good job. 

Jughead walked back in a few minutes later, carrying a small disposable bag. He headed over to Betty's side, moving Veronica out of the way as he set the bag down on the nightstand.

"What's in there?" Veronica asked with a suspicious tone; her gaze never directed away from his hands as he took the supplies out with them.

"Drugs," he responded weakly, refraining from giving her any more information and pulled out an injection vial of clear liquid.

"Is--is that... a needle?" Veronica pointed to the sharp object in his hand. "What's it for?" She asked quizzically, looking strung out and concerned for Betty's well-being.

Jughead proceeded to withdraw the liquid into the syringe pump, ignoring Veronica's questions. He nudged Betty's arms away and pulled back the covers that were blanketed over her body. She sighed wearily, not bothering to put up a fight.

As she lay completely still on the bed, body foundered into the mattress, her legs bare and exposed to the cool air; Jughead curled his finger under the bottom hem of her shirt. More chills appeared on her legs when she felt the top of that finger brush against her skin. He pushed the shirt up to her midriff, revealing her white panties once again. She hadn't realized her lips parted during that action, letting in a sharp inhale, then exhaled it out slowly. She looked down at the bandage hiding her wound, noticing there was a bit of splotchy redness around it. 

Jughead bent down a bit, eyes examining her waist, then they looked up at her face. She wasn't aware of what he was about to do; then, once his eyes stayed deadlocked on hers, and he hooked his finger over the top of the waistband of her panties, her breath nearly hitched in her throat.

His unblinking eyes didn't shift away from hers for a second like he was trying to read her reaction as he pulled the waistband a sliver of an inch down her hip. 

She tried not to move a centimeter of muscle in her face, but the bobbing of the larynx in her throat from swallowing so hard was undeniably noticeable. The area below her hipbones was still hidden by her underwear, but that tinge of a moment where he moved her panties to uncover a small patch of skin had her heart thudding rapidly in her chest. 

Maybe she reacted the way she did because it was an uncomforting moment, and she had never had another person touch her there before. Not even Archie.

She was sure heat would pool in her chest and gut no matter who the person was. There was no reason Jughead was any different, except for the part where his dark presence simply terrified her, and that was enough for her adrenaline to kick in.

Jughead took an alcohol wipe and rubbed the small uncovered area on her left hip. He then pinched that patch of skin with his thumb and index finger and extracted a gush of liquid out of the needle with his other hand. 

"Will it hurt?" She asked nervously.

Jughead looked at her with deadpan eyes as he pressed the needle to the mound of reddened flesh squeezed between his fingers. "I don't think that's the thing you should be worried about right now."

With his attention focused on her face and not on what he was doing, Betty was unprepared when he unexpectedly drove the needle through the skin, injecting the liquid inside her hip. 

She stared at it, slack-jawed. "Ow..."

It didn't actually hurt; only felt like a tiny prick, but the word just reactively fell out of her mouth.

He swiftly pulled the needle out, letting her skin bounce back into place, then applied pressure to the spot with his two fingers and stuck a bandaid over it. "All done," he smirked to himself.

Betty narrowed her eyes at her hip, frowning at the new sensitive area as she adjusted the waistband of her panties, so they were arranged properly over her hip. She then tried to reach for the covers but gave up because they were too far out of her reach. Veronica's eyes perked up, quickly noticing her friend's struggle, and walked over to her side of the bed to help her.

Betty saw the small bottle of liquid sitting on the nightstand, but Jughead grabbed it and placed it back in the bag before she had a chance to read the label. She had no idea what was injected inside her. Could be deadly poison for all she knew. Veronica didn't seem too eager to know what was inside that bottle, so she wasn't going to fret about it either. 

_Whatever happens, happens._

It felt like hours before the drug started to kick in, but realistically, it had only been a few minutes. The muscles in her body relaxed, and the pain wasn't nearly as severe. She felt like she could think again without the pain clogging up her mind. 

Jughead sat in a chair next to her bed, playing on his phone. 

His eyes were focused so determinedly on the screen in his hands, but they still found time to check up on her every few seconds. Betty usually looked away whenever his eyes landed on hers, but this time they didn't. This time they stayed.

His brows knitted in response. Curious about her longing stare, he got up and walked over to her. 

"How do you feel?" He asked with a hushed voice, removing the cloth that was no longer hot from her head and positioned his hand over her forehead to feel her temperature. 

If she didn't know any better, she'd think he actually cared about the answer to that question. If she didn't know that the same hand feeling her forehead was the same hand that drove the knife through her stomach, she'd simply appreciate the care it was giving her.

She'd let herself enjoy the feeling of his soft cool fingertips against her rosy red cheeks, but she couldn't. 

Jughead used the side of his index finger to nudge underneath her chin, trying to get her attention, "hm?" He gingerly swiped his thumb over it, then retreated his hand back while still looking her in the eyes. Her stomach fluttered from those gentle eyes. They were warm and comforting, just like the affectionate touch he gave her that her mind couldn't seem to turn away from. She wanted him to do that again. 

_Touch_ her.

She told herself she couldn't let herself enjoy that feeling, but despite the darkness that shielded him and towered over her most of the time, she couldn't help but crave that softness he revealed to her once in a while.

It was like watching the villain in a movie show a sense of humanity that you've never seen before. It's gratifying and pleasurable, and it makes you forget all of their imperfections for a little while.

_And this real-life villain was no different._

It was tough pulling herself back into the conversation. She blinked a few times while clearing her throat. "I feel fine," she replied softly under her breath. "It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

Jughead nodded, looking down at the spot on the covers where her wounded stomach lay underneath. "Okay, well, let me know if you start to feel faint or feverish again, and I'll have Laine re-heat this cloth," he said, picking up the rag, then set it back down on the nightstand. "Okay?"

She gave one small nod, then brushed her fingers against his arm, "wait," she said when she sensed him start to turn away from her.

With raised eyebrows, he looked down at her hand, then back up at her face; his listening ears now perked up.

She began to feel bold, the drugs now rushing to relax her head. Once her mind clouded with a bit of haze, she deeply sighed and allowed a smile to curl on her face. "What's up with that Laine girl?" She asked with a glint of courage in her eyes -- refusing to shift them away from his darkening ones.

He heavily inhaled, nostrils flared out of reflex, "what do you mean?"

Her mind traced back to their encounter with each other and the flame that was built as they heatedly fought just with their eyes. Her conscience was telling her not to go down that road, but there was something about it that had her itching to know more.

"I saw your eyes," she emitted softly, letting a few seconds of silence linger between them before she spoke again. "I saw hers."

He kept the same furrowed brows, not switching to any other facial expression as he tried to register her words. "What are you talking about?"

"Is she an ex-girlfriend?" Betty let that question slide off her tongue like a bar of soap. There was no going back now; she had already asked the climactic question she had been wondering about since the moment Laine stepped into the room.

"A girl that broke your heart?" She added, her voice high and innocent-sounding.

Jughead let out a sound that was similar to a scoff. "You're delusional from all the blood loss and drugs I gave you."

He brushed it off quicker than she thought he would like it was a ridiculous question to ask, but he didn't exactly deny it either. "So... Is that a yes or no?" 

He rolled his eyes under his lids playfully and exhaled softly out his nose. "Yes, it's a no."

A small dimple appeared in the corner of her mouth from that answer, almost giving a smile, but it was more of a pleasant look.

He disconnected their longing gaze, and Betty's pleased expression dropped after what he casually said next.

"I don't do girlfriends."

Her lips parted, air barely escaping her mouth and her eyes dropped to the floor.

He turned away and went back to sit in the chair again. Her stomach tightened, holding onto the sickness that seethed in her core. 

She didn't know what caused her throat to close or why chills suddenly overwhelmed her body, but it all appeared -- all of it. At once.

A sensation so sickly and unbearable that she questioned if it was what he said that was causing it or if it was something else.

Heart on a string, it hung loosely from its home in her chest and she wanted to rip it out. Every molecule burned in her body, feeling like a million tiny fires occurring at once.

Her breath quickened, lips dried from the constant brush of air against them.

Once she felt like she couldn't control her shallow breathing any longer, she went into full panic mode and sat up quickly.

Jughead shot his head up with alarm. "What's wrong?"

"Betty?" Veronica hurried out of the bathroom.

Betty forced herself to swallow. A tingly numb sensation began in her arms and legs, and she quickly got out of bed, hoping to find the feeling in her legs again.

Dizziness suddenly approached her. She looked up at Jughead, inhaling two short breaths before she lost complete control of her body. Eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell straight to the ground, the right side of her body smacked the wooden floor _hard_.

But she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel a thing. Her sense of awareness was gone, and the only thing she could see was a blurred image, then...

_Everything went black._

Betty was seizing on the ground. 

"Oh, my god!" Veronica cried out and sprinted over to her friend.

Jughead dropped to his knees, and his hands trembled over her convulsing body, dithering about what to do next. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," he repeated over and over.

Veronica grabbed the back of Betty's head, holding it up so she wouldn't hit it on the ground. "She's having a seizure. What the hell-- oh, my god. Oh, my god. Shit, shit, shit, shit. What do we do?!" 

Jughead spurted back up to his feet in panic and placed his hands on his head.

Veronica speedily got up to retrieve her phone from her purse. "I'm calling an ambulance," she announced and dialed the number on her emergency screen.

"NO!" he barked.

"Jughead, if she doesn't go to the hospital, then she's going to die! _"_ she exclaimed, her voice pitch dark and deep.

Jughead glared at her, presenting a menacing stare.

She sealed her lips shut once she realized what name she had just used. It came out so fast; she didn't have time to catch it. 

Veronica's expression turned hunted, afraid of his reaction, but she knew there was no time to act scared, so she continued. "We don't have a choice anymore."

Jughead clenched his fists and jaw tightly. There was a rumble in his throat when he looked down at Betty. Eyes blackened with anger, body tensed with rage, and he stormed passed his desk, knocking a few items off it, "FUCK!" he howled and slammed his hand down on the surface of the desk.

She jumped from the sudden loud action and could practically see the steam shooting out of his ears. 

Betty's shaking movements were slowing down, her body spasms now erratic and less frequent. 

"Wait!" Jughead threw his hand up at Veronica, indicating to stop what she was doing. He got back down on his knees and held Betty's arms to steady her. Her limbs jerked every other second, then after a bit of time went by, her body curled into a feeble position. 

He cupped her face, forcing her head to turn towards him. "Can you look at me?"

He patted her cheek a couple of times, attempting to get her to come back to her awareness state. "Huh? Can you hear me?" He asked, then checked her wrist for a pulse. She was no longer convulsing, but her eyes stayed stubborn, refusing to open.

Jughead looked up at Veronica, who still had her phone in her hand ready to press the call button.

 _'What do we do?'_ was painted across her face in big letters, her eyes widened more and more after each second passed, and Betty still hadn't woken up.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUGHEAD --" Veronica blurted out.

Betty gasped heavily for air right then and there. The sound bursted out of her mouth like a wheeze as she did a sit-up, the top half of her body springing up into the sitting position.

She was now awake.

Veronica grabbed her chest with relief as Jughead seized Betty's face again, forcing her to look at him so he could study her. "Look at me. _Look at me, Elizabeth._ " He gave her head a gentle shake, trying to get her to react. "Are you okay?"

Betty was too stunned and disoriented to answer him. Instead, she looked down as he kept her face in his hands, and she lifted her shirt. 

Blood had seeped through the gauze, drowning it completely, and was running down her abdomen. Betty vaguely heard Veronica make a tiny gasp in the background. 

Her hands started trembling when she let her shirt fall back into place. She made a whimpering sound and slowly lifted her head, gazing at Jughead with deadened eyes. She went into shock, suddenly collapsing into his arms, and he quickly reacted, linking his arm under her left armpit to steady her up and held her face with his right hand. 

"All right. Hey. Betty, Betty, Betty," he repeated that name over and over, trying to get her to respond. "I need you to stay awake for me, okay?" 

Betty kept a vacant expression on her face, not showing any clear sign of emotion.

"Come on."

Jughead let out a sigh of apprehension when she stayed silent. His eyes began to travel down her frail body and caught the sight of blood dripping to the waistband of her panties. He lifted her shirt, nearly grimacing at the bloody mess, and groaned. "Goddammit, Betty," he breathed out, letting that name fall from his tongue once again. 

* * *

She saw a row of blurry lights traveling away from her; speed seemed like a million miles an hour. Her concept of time in that moment was like traveling through a magical time warp, losing awareness, and blacking out every few seconds. It felt like each destination came in a blink of an eye, but really, it was probably a lot longer than that.

"What do we have here?" A doctor asked, running towards the small crowd of nurses pushing the blonde on a gurney.

"Betty Cooper, 17-year-old female, external abdominal bleeding, new-onset seizures," another doctor voiced as they rushed Betty through the hospital on the gurney.

It was all a blur really. Nothing familiar about her surroundings was caught under her flickering eyelids. She saw tiles and tiles on the ceiling, her breathing sounding like Darth Vader under the oxygen mask, and then a person in a white coat hovered over her. The doctor peered down at Betty's stomach, and a deep sigh escaped his mouth.

"Possible stab wound victim."


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Graphic mentioning of self-harm.
> 
> It was the moment Betty realized she was no longer a closed book. A page had been ripped out, and those words were now plastered all over the thin walls.

_Ever woken up in a hospital room with the overhead lights beaming on you and the sound of the heart rate monitor ringing in your ears? And you're in so much pain, but your eyes are simply too heavy and weak to open, so you crash for a little while longer, and you feel like you're in that continuous agonizing cycle for days._

Betty eventually woke up after several hours of sleep, the anesthesia finally wearing off. 

After the room began to unblur itself, she first noticed her mom sitting in a chair next to her bed. She had her head leaned back, and her eyes were focused on the ceiling. Betty assumed her mom was thinking of a million questions to ask her. The kind of questions she knew she didn't have any reasonable answers for. 

So many chaotic thoughts ran through her head about the entire situation; she figured it was best just to go back to sleep and never wake up again. Once her mom's eyes met hers, the blonde immediately tried to close them again, but it was too late. Her mom had already seen them.

Alice got up from her chair. "Betty?" She rested by her daughter's hospital bed and brought her cold hand up to her cheek. "Are you awake?"

Betty slowly opened her eyes again, afraid to see her mom's reaction. 

"Oh, Betty, my baby," she sighed with relief and hugged her tightly. "Thank goodness you're all right."

She was a bit surprised by her mom's lack of anger in her voice. Even more surprised that she was calling her Betty and not Elizabeth. By the grateful tone and the long embrace, Alice seemed genuinely happy to see her daughter. She hadn't hugged her that hard since Betty was in the third grade, and she found her walking the streets alone in the middle of the night. 

She was a little dramatic as a child. She'd run away from home almost every time she and her mom got into an argument. Betty liked the desperation in her mom's voice whenever she'd beg for her to come home. She liked the sadness and despair in her mom's eyes whenever she was worried about her.

She liked that her mom cared. 

But once Betty got a little older, Alice started to show she cared in different ways. Instead of crying or hugging her, she'd yell and yell until Betty's fingers were so far deep into her palms, her nails would get stuck under the skin. 

She grew out of her attention-seeking phase eventually. It became quite evident to her that no matter what she did, her mom wouldn't give her that same sympathetic look again.

_Well,_ until now.

"I'm sorry, mom," Betty whispered softly against her mom's ear. Alice pulled back, looking at her daughter empathetically as if Betty had just told her some type of depressing secret about herself.

"It's okay, sweetheart." She lovingly brushed her fingers through her blonde locks. "Veronica told me what happened. I'm just so glad she found you in time."

_Found me in time?_ Betty shot her mom a bemused look. _Uh-oh, what did Veronica tell her?_

Betty followed her mom's eyes to the other side of the room. Sitting in a chair on the left side of her bed, Veronica was gazing at her with raised eyebrows and a nervous smile.

Alice cleared her throat and turned to walk away. "I'm gonna go get a nurse and let you two talk for a moment," she said, then proceeded to head out of the room. Once the door was shut behind her, Veronica grabbed the chair and scooted it closer to her bed. 

"Talk quickly," Betty demanded, eager to get the information out of her before her mom came back with the nurse. 

"Okay --" she swallowed, then sat down, positioning herself in the chair and rested her hands next to Betty's arm. Noticing that her body and eyes reeked of distress and uneasiness, Betty knew the next words that would come out of her friend's mouth wouldn't be comforting to her ears.

"I had to lie to the nurses and your mom about what happened. I couldn't tell them that a Serpent did this to you. I couldn't tell them that anyone did this to you," Veronica confessed.

"What?" She cocked her eyebrows. "So... then, what did you tell them?"

Veronica sighed deeply and scooted to the edge of her chair to get closer to her. "Okay..." She leaned forward, locking her serious eyes with Betty's. "Listen to me."

Betty knew that deep tone. She was afraid of it. "What did you tell them, _Veronica?"_ She repeated. 

"I told them..." Veronica's eyes softened under Betty's stern gaze like a guilty puppy looking up at its owner. "I told them you did it to yourself," she admitted softly.

Betty's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "What...?" She couldn't believe her ears. "You told them I _stabbed_ myself?"

"I had to, Betty," Veronica replied, her voice changed into a harsh whisper. "It was the only way either one of us was going to make it out of this alive."

"What--what are you talking about?" She didn't know if it was the drugs or the extreme blood loss, but her friend wasn't making any sense to her.

Veronica looked around to make sure they were still alone. "Okay, Jughead--Forsythe," she caught herself and paused for a second. "Whatever..." she brushed it off and continued. "He warned me about it in the car on the way here. He said it's best to tell them that this was a self-inflicted knife wound. He said that if I tell the cops the truth about what happened, then they're going to investigate, which will lead to Rafael and the drugs."

"So?!"

Truth be told, she wanted Rafael and the other guys to go to jail. It wasn't like she could ever feel safe knowing they're still walking freely on the paved streets.

"So..." Veronica began again and reached for Betty's hand, gripping it gently, and ran her thumb over the peak of her knuckles. Betty could tell she was delaying her next words, so she retreated her hand away from her hold, hoping that would help her spit it out faster.

She recognized Betty's rejected body language and let out a soft exhale. "If Rafael goes to prison, then... _all_ _of us_ are dead, Betty," she finally let out, and the dark words flew right over Betty's head. "He's got men on the Southside... He's got men in different states... He's got men across the fucking border. If he goes down, then it'll come out that we ratted him out, and then he'll know that we're still alive. Rafael and his goons will come for the Serpents, for Jughead, for _us_."

"Why do you keep calling him Jughead?" Betty plainly asked in the midst of their serious conversation.

Veronica raised her eyebrows at the blonde's random question. "What...? Are you even listening to me right now?"

The information wasn't quite registering in Betty's brain, but deep down, she knew how profound the situation actually was. It was just that the name triggered her, and hearing it fall out of her friend's mouth so casually without any consequences made her skin crawl. "He doesn't like it when people call him that, so why are you saying it?"

"Uh... I don't know. I got bored whenever you fell asleep last night and started snooping around his room," she admitted. "I found a drawing in one of his drawers, and it looked like a kid drew it. The name Jughead was written on it really big in crayon, so it got sort of stuck in my head, I guess."

"Well, don't say it again," Betty warned.

"Okay... Fine," she murmured with questioning eyes. "I won't." 

Betty nodded and let out a breath of relief. She leaned her head back against the pillow, feeling her heavy eyes weigh down on her face.

"Anyway..." Veronica cut in, not yet done with their conversation. "it wouldn't be just Rafael who would try to kill us... Betty. Even if the cops weren't able to trace the incident back to him and it was just the Serpents who got accused, then _Forsythe_... said he'd slice our necks himself."

Betty scoffed at that statement, managing a hysterical smile on her face. The medicine was definitely making her groggy and a bit careless, but there was nothing more absurd than what her life had become. Being threatened by gang members who do treacherous and unspeakable acts was not something she ever planned on happening. 

"Also, if it comes up, I was the one who drove you to the hospital. He dropped us off at my car --"

"What?" She cut her off, dropping the smile immediately, "Why didn't he just drive me to the fucking hospital himself?"

Her aggressive outburst felt out of her control, just like the aching patter in her chest.

There was something seriously wrong with her. 

"He couldn't have, Betty..." Veronica replied softly.

"I could've _died!_ " she exclaimed, raising her voice that cracked subtly under her rigid tone.

"I know."

She couldn't bite back the smile that absentmindedly formed on her face again. Only this time, there was a glint of insanity that peaked in her eyes, "I was dying, and you let him drive thirty minutes back to where your car was parked at the party?" 

"It was the only way," Veronica retorted.

"Bull _fucking_ shit," she snapped back.

"B..."

"Why couldn't you have just told them it was an accident or--or something other than me not sounding like a mentally unstable freak?"

The glistening dazzle in Veronica's eyes told her she was fighting back the tears. It was difficult knowing that she was making her best friend cry, but for some reason, the longer the discussion went on, the more amused and hysterical Betty got. She coughed out a soft chuckle, then secured her lips shut.

"An accident? Who accidentally knives themselves in the stomach?" Veronica swiftly slapped a tear away from her cheek and proceeded in a mocking tone, "Oh, hey, yeah, my friend here _accidentally_ walked into this knife I was holding."

"Think, Betty."

"Veronica, I can't have my mom or anyone..." She paused, and in an unblinking mess, tears flowed steadily down her reddening cheeks, "...thinking I'm suicidal."

Fear escalated in Veronica's eyes due to the silent frenzy of madness on the blonde's face. Betty was unrecognizable at that point. She had dark circles under her eyes, and Veronica could've sworn her pupils dilated as wide as the green irises in her eyes.

"They're going to send me to an insane asylum," she whispered under her breath.

"I-I know," Veronica swallowed harshly. "Trust me, if I thought there was a better option..."

Betty didn't speak for several seconds. Out of frustration, she tried moving her arms to fold over her chest but didn't realize she had an IV in her hand. She groaned and ripped the tape off, yanking the needle right out of her skin.

Veronica blinked back the tears, and concern took over her facial expression. "What are you doing?"

Betty chose to ignore her; stubbornness and anger now becoming her strongest emotions. There was too much rage building up in her body at once. After a minute passed and the silence between them had grown tiring, Betty clenched her fist tightly at her side, trying her best to hide the purple tint it started to turn. Everything about the environment surrounding her was irritating her -- the temperature, the lights, the pain, the thirst... all of it was going to _consume_ her. 

"Knock, knock," Alice said as she entered the room.

The nurse followed behind and made her way over to the right side of her bed. "Hey, there. How are you feelin'?"

"Fine," Betty muttered.

"Ooh, baby, you gotta keep this in," the nurse signaled to the IV, sweeping it up with her fingers and directed it back into Betty's hand. 

"Yeah? If you feel any pain, let me know," her mom interfered as she grabbed her daughter's other hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Mom, I'm fine," she huffed. "You don't need to hold my hand."

Alice gave an apologetic smile, clearing her throat gently, and retreated her hand away, "Sorry."

After the nurse was finished settling the IV back in her hand, she stepped over to the front of her hospital bed and grabbed the blonde's medical chart. "I did want to ask you about the stitching on your wound..." Her eyes curiously wandered to that particular spot that was hidden underneath layers of gauze and blankets. "Did you try to stitch that up yourself?"

This would've been the part where Betty tenses her body, turn a shade of red only roses could resemble, then blurt out any excuse she could find in her chaotic head. But all she could do was sit in silence. Sit in miserable silence, practically encouraging it to drown her from the inside out.

"I did," Veronica bravely confessed aloud, followed by her breath arising out of her mouth with a slight shudder. "I was able to stop the bleeding, and she begged me to help her because she knew she had made a big mistake. I told her that we should go to the hospital, but she refused. I had the stitching supplies at my house, so I figured I could help... I tried my best to."

Alice eyed her warily, then exchanged a short look with the nurse, who seemed more surprised than skeptical. "Well, okay, then. That is _not_ something you should _ever_ do," the nurse sternly raised her voice. "I--I'm surprised and quite frankly, a little worried you thought suturing her instead of taking her to the hospital was the better option, but um..."

Veronica pursed her lips together, displaying an expression similar to a cringe.

"She could have developed an infection, which is very, very dangerous. And super deadly if not treated right away," the nurse added, looking bewildered.

Alice cut in, "What were you thinking, _Elizabeth_?"

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut after hearing that name overshadow the rest of her mom's words. "I wasn't."

"Did you want to die?"

"No!" Betty shouted.

"Then why'd you do it?" Alice was trying to badger the answers out of her. She stared down at her daughter with fixed eyes, then sighed deeply when Betty wouldn't meet them. "Why do that to yourself?"

The blonde fidgeted with a wrinkle in the bedsheet as she tightened her lips together, feeling anger rush over her because she couldn't tell her mom the truth. "I don't know," she muttered.

"Honey, you know you can always come to me --"

"Can we not do this right now?" Betty blurted as she shot her eyes up at her mom. "I'm fine! Look!" She pointed her finger at the heart monitor machine that was situated to the right of her. The machine beeped every time her heart pumped a stream of blood through her body. "If I weren't fine, then that thing would flatline." She paused for a second, bringing her finger back down as she aggressively glared at Alice. "I'd be _dead_."

Her mom closed her eyes for a second like she was trying to block out the image of her daughter dying, then slowly opened them back up. "I know you're fine physically... okay?" Her voice weakened, "But... but what about mentally?"

Betty let silence answer the question for her. She sunk back into her pillow, refusing to say a word. Truth be told, no one had ever questioned her mental state before, but that was because they never had a reason to. She pushed the thought of her being that damaged away. 

"I think I'm gonna go," Veronica said, breaking the silence thankfully. "It's been a long night and day, and my parents don't exactly know where I am."

Alice nodded her head, "Okay."

Veronica turned to head out of the room, but when she got to the doorway, she stopped and turned back. "You're gonna be okay, right, B?" 

Betty lifted her head to look at her and gave a small nod--a nod that was barely readable.

She watched her best friend and her mom clear out of the room while she memorized the details of her mother's charismatic expression on her face. She tried to lock that image in her brain, making it last, so she could remember it the next time her mom causes a storm in her mind. 

She couldn't lie to herself. She wasn't the one to drive the knife through her own stomach, but she couldn't deny the fact that she knew the location of every single one of her mom's knives in the kitchen. There were countless times where she would pick one up and daydream about slitting her wrists vertically. Sometimes she liked to imagine the remorse and sorrow in her mom's eyes once she saw the blood streaming out of her daughter's forearms. 

But that was just a reoccurring fantasy that started at the age of 10. She knew deep down that her life wasn't that hard.

Just an endless suffocating loop that she didn't know how to get out of. 

"Have you been self-harming for a while now?" Betty heard the nurse ask, immediately snapping her out of her daze. 

"What?" She rotated her head to look up at the nurse, who was now standing at the right side of her bed. "No," she replied defensively. "I don't self-harm."

The nurse raised her eyebrows, glancing down at Betty's side. "What about that knife infliction?"

"It was stupid," she snapped. "Just a spur of the moment type thing. I'm not, like, depressed or anything like that, and I don't self-harm."

The woman narrowed her eyes at her in a quizzical manner as she gave a slight head nod, "Then what are those?" She kept her eyes locked with Betty's, but the blonde felt the blood leave her head once she knew what the nurse was gesturing to. Betty darted her eyes down, and there rested by her side--her red crescents displayed on her exposed palm for anyone to see.

She inhaled a sharp breath and snapped her hand shut as quickly as she could. Her heart beating loud in her chest was the only thing she could hear and feel as she averted her eyes away from the nurse. She was reluctant to acknowledge her any longer as embarrassment and self-hatred consumed her. 

Once the woman finally left the room, Betty was no longer capable of holding back the tears. Her body trembled as she closed her eyes and sobbed.

She didn't just cry. She sobbed and wept for minutes on end, letting the tears inevitably stain her cheeks.

It was the moment Betty realized she was no longer a closed book. A page had been ripped out, and those words were now plastered all over the thin walls.

* * *

Veronica and Alice walked out of the elevator, heading their way to the revolving door to exit the hospital. Alice stepped in the cylindrical enclosure first with Veronica following behind. As the older woman pushed one of the doors to rotate them, there was a person simultaneously entering the building. Veronica gave a quick glance through the rotating glass; then, her eyes were immediately bulging out of their sockets as they gawked at the dark-headed man passing them. His flexed jawline and the toothpick hanging from his fleshy red lips were unmissable as his devilish eyes slowly reached hers.

_Jughead._

She was surprised to see he wasn't in his Serpent jacket, just a plain black bomber with a white fitted t-shirt underneath. He strolled through the revolving doors so casually, quickly flashing her that wicked look in his eyes as her heart sank to the thought of them being just a foot apart, and the only thing separating them was a transparent door circling around the vertical axis. 

Once the door rotated enough for him to enter the building and for her to walk out into the fall light, Veronica stopped, keeping her cautious gaze on the man as he disappeared inside the hospital.

Alice puzzledly stared at Veronica, then followed the direction of her eyes. "What? What's wrong?"

Realizing Alice didn't know who they had just walked passed, Veronica stiffened momentarily, looking up at her with an unsettled expression frozen on her face. 

* * *

Black combat boots treaded the white flooring of the hospital, slowly making their way over to the nurses station arranged in the center of the floor. A nurse looked up from the stack of papers she was filing to acknowledge the presence of the stranger. 

"Hey," Jughead greeted while leaning his elbow against the surface of the desk. "I came here to ask about the status of one of your patients."

"What's the name?" The nurse asked.

"Uh..." He tapped his strong, slender fingers along the cool surface. "Elizabeth. She came in with a stab wound."

"Oh, yes." The nurse grabbed a manila folder off the desk and opened it up. "Elizabeth Cooper..." she read off the page, gliding the tip of her finger across it. "It says here that she's out of surgery."

A crease appeared in between his brows like those words mystified him for a second, then he relaxed his face, looked down and straightened himself back up. "Okay," he responded.

"She's awake now if you want to go see her. She's in that room over there." The nurse pointed to the room closest to the station. Jughead turned his head to see the door was wide open. The bottom of Betty's bed was visible, but not a single inch of her was.

Jughead took a second to respond, then shook his head, "Uh, no. That's okay."

"Do you wanna leave a message?--"

He shook his head.

"Or you can at least tell me your name, so she knows you stopped by," the woman insisted with a smile. 

Jughead looked like he was debating with himself as he rolled the toothpick around with his tongue.

A few seconds traveled by, then he took a short step back. "No," he uttered, and the raven-haired boy was now viewed as nothing less than some supernatural creature. The nurse was transfixed by his mysterious yet devious tone as he took another few steps backward.

"No name," he slyly smirked.

Then, without waiting a second to see a reaction form on the woman's face, he was back to treading the floors once again. 

Leaving behind a trail of unsettling dust that even caused Betty to glance over at her doorway coincidentally.

The lingering presence of him appeared to haunt the hospital walls because there she was-- _alone_ \--thinking about him

_\--once_ _again._

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!:) Comments are appreciated!


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